Long before Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court, which effectively legalized abortions under 14th Amendment. This enabled women to terminate their pregnancies before they had reached three months and established the trimester system. Over the first three months of a pregnancy, women have complete control whether to proceed with an abortion or carry the fetus to full term. In the second trimester, the state has some control over determining if a woman can have an abortion and in the third trimester, states can regulate the procedure if the child can live outside of the womb or if the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life (BBC News, 2004).
Since the implementation of Roe v. Wade, however, state and federal governments have limited abortions. Currently at least 30 states have regulations curtailing or limiting the circumstances in which a woman can have an abortion under. This means women in many cases have to travel across state lines in order to have the procedure performed. Also, although abortion is legal, it remains a lightening rod issue with moral foundations that millions of people feel very passionately about. If anything, the morality issues have only increased in the four decades since Roe v. Wade was entered into law. So it is a question that divides people on two sides all around the globe. With strong cases that can be made for both sides, whether it is right or wrong to have an abortion depends on a person’s moral convictions and their circumstances.
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"Ethics: Abortion Right Or Wrong?".
What is first and foremost in many of the dilemmas surrounding whether having an abortion is a the right thing to do, is when a fetus is considered to be a living, breathing human being. Science has remained murky on the issue and no definitive date has yet to produced, but if one follows the teachings of the Catholic Church, a human life is formed at conception and no one but God has the right to snuff out a life force. In the Declaration on Procured Abortion produced in 1974, the Catholic Church proclaims, “And death like sin will be definitively defeated by resurrection in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20-27). Thus we understand that human life, even on this earth, is precious. Infused by the Creator life is again taken back by Him (cf. Gen. 2:7;Wis. 15:11). It remains under His protection: man’s blood cries out to Him (cf. Gen. 4:10) and He will demand an account of it, “for in the image of God man was made” (Gen. 9:5-6). The commandment of God is formal: “You shall not kill” (Ex. 20:13). Life is at the same time a gift and a responsibility. It is received as a “talent” (cf. Mt. 25:14-30); it must be put to proper use” (Declaration on Procured Abortion, 1974).
In the document Standing For the Unborn: A Statement From the Society of Jesus, these individuals support the teachings of the Catholic Church that abortion is inherently wrong and should not be allowed to transpire. The article states, “Since the January 22, 1973 United States Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, more than 39 million American lives have been ended by abortion. Among all the justice issues we as a society should view with grave concern, abortion is a key social evil” (Society of Jesus, 2003). The Jesuits agree with the Catholic Church in their contention that life inside the womb begins at conception and nobody except God has the authority to terminate a pregnancy. This is akin to murder and is therefore, a crime. Standing For the Unborn States, “The whole array of potential threats to life and human dignity is interrelated and the Christian imperative to oppose it calls forth from us a consistent ethic of life.” The Jesuits feels abortion is not a private choice and should be regulated by the public, as it is a societal concern. It should not be up to an individual to make that kind of choice. Abortion is not only morally reprehensible but should be illegal in their eyes.
On the other hand, a woman’s right to have an abortion is in direct conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Sarah Weddington stated in Roe v. Wade, “A pregnancy to a woman is perhaps one of the most determinative aspects of her life. It disrupts her body. It disrupts her education. It disrupts her employment. And it often disrupts her entire family life” (BBC News, n.d). Other factors pointed out in this article in favor of abortion are women have a moral right to decide what they are going to do with their own bodies and abortion provides some measure of gender equality through reproductive freedom. A man does not have to carry a child for nine months and deal with any of the issues that arise from having a child, if he chooses not to. Women have no choice in that matter. Also, making abortions illegal will only send women to unsafe practitioners and put their lives at risk.
It must be noted, people in favor of abortions are not immune to the position of the fetus. They do not disregard or downplay the potential for human life. They merely feel women should have the option to choose. In a situation such as this, abortion may be the best alternative for what can be considered all bad choices.
After reviewing these articles and pondering the situation at length, the issue of whether abortion is morally ethical is a difficult one at best. Both sides present enough evidence of their positions and have salient points that could sway a party either way. Ultimately what it all boils down to is a person’s personal beliefs and their circumstances. Abortion may be the best choice for a young woman who is the victim or rape or incest so she can move forward with her life. For a married, secure couple, abortion should not be used as birth control. If the commitment is there whether the pregnancy was planned or not, it should be seen to fruition. The Jesuits feel abortion is not a personal choice, however, it is exactly that. Each situation is different and what works for one woman may not work at all for another. Whether abortion is morally and ethically correct is a question with no easy answer and one that will not be determined with impunity in the near future.
