Consequentialist View Of Abortion Essay

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Despite several legal, moral and ethical issues we are faced with, abortion may very well be the one people are most passionate about. Abortion is defined as “a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus” . The topic of abortion makes for a heated debate- pro-choicer individuals advocate for abortion, whilst pro-life individuals are against it. In this paper, three ethicists will be discussing their different perspectives on the issue of abortion. Mr. Smith will begin by discussing his consequentialist view of abortion, followed by Mr. Adams, who will discuss his deontological perspective. Finally, Ms. White will introduce the ways in which virtue ethicists avoid the drawbacks of the two traditional approaches.

As a consequentialist, Mr. Smith bases his moral decisions on its consequences. Abortion, he claims, does more good than harm, and is morally permissible (even encouraged). Mr. Smith holds a pro-choice stance; he argues that outlawing abortion has extremely damaging consequences on society, and produces more misery than safe and legal abortion.
Achieving equal participation of women in society is important, and though we have made immense progress in this regard, depriving women of their reproductive rights is a massive hindrance. Violating women’s rights leads to …show more content…
Pro-choice consequentialists claim that outlawing abortion would be detrimental for society in various ways. Mr. Adams, a deontologist, responded to this claim by stating that the unborn child has a right to life, and that abortion would be a breach of those rights. Finally, Ms. White introduced us to a virtue ethics approach, and claimed that the decision to proceed with abortion depends on good or virtuous character, and is made through a case-by-case analysis. There will never be universal and broadly accepted views on abortion, as opinions, such as those demonstrated above, vary
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