Ethics of Abortion: Is It Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion? Essay Example

Background on Abortion

Abortion, as many would know it today, is described as a termination of pregnancy and it it’s usually done just a little under 25-30 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion is seen as a color blinded issue that few people see the logic in, very few will argue that it’s the woman’s choice to have an abortion but it is the woman’s choice to have an abortion and it can be said that she’s in control of her body.

Abortion may be the worst act in the world as seen as the ultimate evil, it has been documented that there are 4 different subtypes of abortion that has been performed by women. One of the subtypes is called missed abortion, this type of abortion is seen as the least harmful of all the abortion subtypes because the fetus can survive outside of the womb even though its birth is premature. Induced abortion is when a woman’s pregnancy is terminated through various drugs and surgical procedures, this type of abortion is not as sought out. Moderate vaginal bleeding and cramping await women who decide to get a threatened abortion. A complete abortion is when a woman’s uterus is completely bereft of the fetus as well as any remains of the fetus that might still lie within.

Why abortion is an ethical issue

Abortion is seen as an ethical because it cause women question everything they’ve known about right and wrong, some women are seen as selfish for getting an abortion. The nurses aiding in the procedure have been known to suffer psychologically, they might feel “dirty” for helping a woman kill her unborn child. This also negatively impacts a nurse from an emotional perspective where the trauma of aiding in killing an unborn child would cause her to cry or even feel withdrawn from partaking in the whole thing. There are some nurses who are impacted morally where they feel like they just committed the ultimate evil and causes them to re-examine their ethical standards of right and wrong, some nurses feel like they don’t even know who they are after the procedure. Some of these effects can be long term from which many never recover.

The pro viewpoints

While abortion is viewed morally wrong and brands many women as selfish hypocrites, there are some that believe that pro-choice is, as it has always been about, a woman’s choice to be the decider of her body’s fate. There are several viewpoints that support this.

-A woman has a right to get an abortion if she desires to, it’s her body and since she’s the one giving birth then it should be her decision alone.

-Forcing a woman to carry her rapist’s child isn’t freedom, abortion is justified.

-A woman’s character should never come into question when she’s getting an abortion, she has rights to.

The three aforementioned viewpoints are based on the idea that a woman’s body is hers alone and being pro-choice gives her the freedom to decide getting an abortion is right for her.

According to Kleiman (1984), “a woman’s body is hers to command, it’s not in another person’s place to say what that woman is doing is wrong” (Kleiman, 1984).

The Con Viewpoints

There are some who believe that abortion is murder and being pro-life is all about limiting abortions as well as how many women should not get them.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that abortion should be made illegal, it is a woman’s destiny to bear children no matter who they’re by.

Abortion is morally wrong and God doesn’t support abortion

A fetus is entitled to life and a life of their very own.

According to Hinman (2014), “women are targets of ethical backlash when they get an abortion but they don’t need to feel ashamed of doing right by themselves” (Hinman, 22, 2014).

It is a known fact that there are more people who are more against abortion than for, but it can’t be argued that any woman who chooses to get an abortion should be supported and not antagonized for ending a human life that was either her or her partner’s choice to make.

Personal Position

My personal position on this is that I’m pro-choice, every woman has a right to choose what to do with her body; there’s no one or doctor on Earth who should make that woman feel bad about her choice. According to Cline (2015), “issues of ethics always arise in heated debates over abortion, but ultimately the woman makes the choice to get the abortion; ethics makes easy choices difficult to make” (Cline 2015).

Ironically, women who get abortions don’t get them out of hatred for another life or even to spite the other person; she’s making a choice, a hard choice, about what would be best for her. Doctors and Nurses have an obligatory duty to treat every woman with the respect that she deserves in accordance to a code of ethics, no woman should ever feel mistreated or be made to feel guilty about her decision. Women are people who have just as much right to say what happens to their bodies, pro-life advocates make pro-choice women feel ugly and dirty about getting an abortion. Some pro-life advocates should just mind their own business, abortion isn’t always a bad thing, it does bad things to good people; it doesn’t make the person bad.

Fairness in accordance with the code of ethics implies that a woman should entitled to fair treatment as well as free of judgments and dirty looks. The nurses have an obligation to do their job and assist in helping the doctors with the abortion procedure, a nurse’s primary concern is to the patient alone. No matter how uncomfortable the nurse is about the abortion procedure based on her feelings and beliefs, the patient has rights and the nurse should be protecting the patient’s rights to get the abortion.

Strategies to promote ethical nursing practice

Nurses have the hardest job of all and they are the looked upon as the guiding light of virtue, but it still goes without saying that they promoting ethical nursing strategies in accordance to the things they deal with on the job is absolute. Moral distress can really take its toll on a nurse who has to assist with abortion procedures or administer the procedure, one of the strategies that promote ethical practice is implement moral courage. Acting on acute manifestations ensures that the nursing professional doesn’t let certain aspects of the job stress her out or drive her to regret becoming a nurse. Nurses need to speak up in order to be heard or have their concerns heard and taken seriously; creating a sacred space is the 4^th strategy that helps the nurse examine her moral distress and take time to re-evaluate herself. The final strategy for promoting ethical nursing practice is affirming, the nurse that affirms her responsibility to act morally will completely avoid the moral distress of her job.

References

Cline, A. (2015). Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion? Retrieved October 24, 2015, from http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/AbortionEthics.htm

Hinman, L. (2014). Abortion: An Overview of the Ethical Issues. Ethics Matters, 1(1), 22-22.

Kleiman, D. (1984, February 15). When abortion becomes birth: a dilemma of medical ethics shaken by new advances. New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/15/nyregion/when-abortion-becomes-birth-a-dilemma-of-medical-ethics-shaken-by-new-advances.html?pagewanted=all