Instructiions Return to the topic you chose in the week three assignment. Articulate a specific dilemma in a situation faced by a particular person based on that topic. The situation can be real or fi

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Principles of Ethics

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Week 4 project milestone on abortion ethical issue

Question 1: personal and communication ethical factors in determining abortion

The abortion topic from personal, societal, and religious perspectives provides diverse and mixed reactions where every group's opinions differ. The core reason why abortion is a critical factor is that the life of an unborn child is in progress, and their views may not be included when determining whether to take an abortion or not. Generally, in my personal view, I believe that human life is special and unique; therefore, people should treat others just as they would like to be treated. Therefore abortion goes against the law of nature and the need to promote the freedom of life. Therefore there is no one with the right to determine when to end other people's lives, even when they are not born.

However, there are circumstances when abortion is allowed based on my ethical factors. First, when the mother's life is at risk, qualified healthcare practitioners can end the pregnancy to protect the mother's life. An example is an ectopic pregnancy, which is often fatal if fast measures to end the pregnancy are not considered. Second, when the fetus's possibility of survival is low, it would be morally ethical to terminate the pregnancy. Healthcare practitioners can consider when relevant complications have developed during the pregnancy process morally; it is to reduce future suffering. However, it would be immoral for people to terminate a pregnancy without an ideal cause. For example, most people have claimed to not have the financial capability to cater to the unborn child's needs. This is not a good reason to justify death. The life of unborn children should be treated with the utmost respect and allow them to grow and develop.

Question 2: Kantian ethics

According to my point of view and Kantian categorical imperative ethics, we share the same opinion. Since abortion is directly related to the termination of life, it cannot be justified, therefore, immoral. According to Kant, numerous international ethics should guide our decision-making processes. According to Kant, the people advocating for abortion normally believe that the mother has more rights over the fetus to determine its growth and development. However, although the mother has these rights, they cannot determine when the child should die.

However, Kant advocates for certain scenarios when abortion can be performed; therefore, during the development of anti-abortion laws, there should be flexibility to accommodate specific scenarios. Firstly when the mother's life is at risk, abortion can be performed to save the mother. Additionally, since some pregnancies result from rape or sexual assault against the mother, the pregnancy can be terminated since continuation means that memories of the traumatic event shall remain for longer.

Kant insists that for people to avoid bad actions, they should begin by focusing on the negative and positive impacts of their actions. In concussion, according to Kant, people have the right to guard the lives of each other, which is according to the rules of humanity. For example, mothers should be involved in guarding their unborn children and not determining when such children should die or not. Those seeking an abortion should have serious conditions, like when the mother's life may be lost during pregnancy. However, abortion should not partake for financial or educational reasons since they have led to the loss of life, which is a precious gift.

Annotated bibliography

Reference

Gensler, H. J. (1985). A Kantian argument against abortion. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition, 48(1), 57-72. https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP504/Gensler%20Harry,%20A%20kantian%20argument%20against%20abortion.pdf

According to Gensler (1985), in the past, there was no real definition of abortion or its impacts on the other and the child. However, according to the Kantian philosophy, abortion is morally wrong and is against any fundamental reasoning. The author presented numerous reasons abortion is wrong; firstly fetus is an innocent unborn child that has not committed any crime that warrants a death sentence. However, if they were adults that have committed serious offenses like murder, they would face the same sentence. Secondly, murder is illegal and morally wrong.

According to Gensler (1985), a human is any animal or organism that can think rationally. At the same time, human life has various essential parts during development, including during conception, after the fetus begins forming the brain waves, at birth and when the fetus becomes self-aware or can think rationally. However, according to Kant, abortion involves the illegal ending of human life, which is not permissible. We all perceive killing anyone alive as a wrong thing. However, most people forget that the fetus is also alive with the gradual development of body parts. Therefore killing them is just like killing a grownup individual.

Manninen, B. A. (2014). A Kantian defense of abortion rights with respect for intrauterine life. Diametros, (39), 70-92. https://diametros.uj.edu.pl/diametros/article/download/565/718

Manninen's (2014) study advocates for the right to abortion using Kant's arguments. Firstly he insists that Kant said humans should treat each other well; however, this does not necessarily apply to the fetus and embryos that have not formed structures to be classified as humans. Additionally, he says Kant insisted that a human can think rationally; therefore, the embryos cannot think or act rationally until they reach the mid-gestation period. Finally, he insists that making abortion illegal will force women to gestate, which is inhumanity against them and humanity to only the unborn children.

Generally, the article is educative, considering specific considerations when abortion can be legalized, especially when the child is too young or when the mother's life is at risk. Additionally, forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will can be considered morally wrong, although there is not much evidence to prove this. Generally, although the author argues moral values, the law should be flexible enough and consider when abortion can be legal.

Denis, L. (2007). Abortion and Kant's Formula of Universal Law. Canadian journal of philosophy, 37(4), 547-579. https://scholar.archive.org/work/2yzsq4dxzbgm3gzqqr3hvt3mz4/access/wayback/http://www.canadianjournalofphilosophy.com:80/PDFs/cjp37-4--547-580--Denis.pdf

Denis (2007) evaluates the universal law by Kant to determine whether abortion can be considered moral. The author insists that people should act according to the maxim and universal law by providing the unborn fetus with an opportunity to live just as they were provided. However, there are considerations of when pregnancy can be terminated, including when there are complications. I agree with the author that human life is special; therefore, it should be treated with respect by allowing the unborn children to grow and develop. The right to life by the fetus outweighs the preferences of the mother.

David, R (1939). Foundations of Ethics. _Mind_ 49 (194):228-239

This article by David (1939) is against Kant's philosophy by arguing that no moral principle can determine ethics as a universal idea. Additionally, according to Kant, there is a general character determining the right and wrong activities in the world, which leads to ethics. I agree with David that there are some situations when abortion can be performed, whether it is morally right or wrong. Additionally, the principle of morality should not be fixed since it involves a character that can change relatively.

Marquis, D. (2017). Why abortion is immoral. In Applied Ethics (pp. 367-373). Routledge. https://courses.edx.org/c4x/GeorgetownX/phlx101-01/asset/marquis.pdf

According to Marquis (2017), classical philosophy has insisted on the importance of strict anti-abortion regulations. Although the article insisted that abortion can be allowed, there is a need to make flexible laws, for example, after victims face life-threatening circumstances, especially the mother. However, from the other arguments, abortion is morally wrong since it involves taking away innocent lives, which is agreed upon since everyone should be allowed an opportunity to grow and live without getting killed. From conception, a new life is created, which should be protected and considered special.