Abortion: An Ethical and Pragmatic Approach

Description

Page: 609-613

Hemlata Krishnani (Department of Philosophy, Mata Sundri Women & College, Mata Sundri Lane, Mandi House, Delhi)

Abortion is a highly contentious ethical issue, and until 1967, it was largely illegal in western democracies. The 1973 Roe v Wade decision by the US Supreme Court granting constitutional rights to abortion in the first six months of pregnancy marked significant turning points. The debate continues to be intense, with both sides struggling to influence opinions. Recently India and the US both made changes in abortion laws. The US overturning Roe and Wade paved the way for more restrictive laws whereas India announced more liberal laws. These decisions have rekindled the deliberations on abortion. This paper aims to present philosophical arguments for and against abortion The debate posits a challenge to justify women and parenting rights versus the foetus’s right to life. The views of Mary Anne Warren and Peter Singer are discussed on the position of the foetus as a person. Don Morquis does not support abortion as for him the immorality of abortion lies in depriving the foetus of its future. Judith Jarvis Thomson gives a strong argument for abortion focusing on a woman’s right to control her own body. The right of either is valuable but in the hierarchy of ethical values the right to life is undoubtedly uppermost but the question left to ponder upon is the right to a dignified life which the foetus deserves along with the right to life. Also, the staggering abortion rates demand a pause, relook, and way ahead emphasising the need for contraception, awareness about sexual and reproductive health rights, and providing affordable and equitable essential reproductive health care infrastructure along with progressive abortion laws. Though the general public is supportive of the easy accessibility to abortion, the debate is conspicuously missing in the public domain.