Abortion, Ethics, and the Law, Essay Example

The issue of abortion has been a significant social and political issue in the United States for decades. In 1973, in the case of Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court decided that the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution established a right to privacy, and further determined that this right to privacy was relevant to a woman’s right to have an abortion. In short, the Court decided that the decision to have an abortion was a private matter. At the same time, the Court acknowledged that the state had an interest in protecting the life of an unborn child, and made it clear that individual states could impose some restrictions on abortions. The issue of abortion is of particular concern to those in the health care field, especially for those who may have personal ethical or moral objections involving abortion. For those who do have ethical objections to abortion it is still possible, and even necessary to support laws that make abortion available.

Laws that limit abortion while still making ti available are already placed in an ethical context. It is generally acknowledged that some limitations on abortion are appropriate and necessary. In some cases abortions might be necessary to protect the life of the mother or for other medical purposes; even those with ethical objections to abortion in general can understand and in most cases support laws making it available in such circumstances. That is just one example of how laws supporting abortions can be supported by those who have ethical objections to the concept of abortion. In the end, the decision to have an abortion is a personal one, and should be made in the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship. Health care workers may have their own personal objections to abortion (or to other issues related to medicine and health care) but they still have an obligation to support the laws protecting the privacy and other rights of individual patients.