Abortion Debate - Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice

Reflection - Abortion Debate

Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice

The topic that I wrote about was the abortion debate, pro-life vs. pro-choice. My own ethical viewpoint about this topic is that it is a women's right to choose. I have never had an abortion before and would not have one for convenience, as suggested in both articles is the main reason women have abortions, however I do feel that under certain circumstances a woman should be able to have an abortion. For example, if a woman is raped it resulted in her becoming pregnant it would be unfair to force the woman to have the child. Or, if the child is expected to have physical or mental issues, a woman should have the right to choose whether to have the child or abort it. If the child was expected to be born with birth defects or other medical conditions, would it be fair to the child to make them suffer? While I do not support abortion for convenience, it would be nearly impossible to choose who gets to have an abortion and who does not, therefore I am pro-choice. Critical thinking characteristics that I used to create my opinion include exploring situations with questions, thinking independently, and supporting perspectives with reasons and evidence. Decision making methods that I have employed to come up with my viewpoint are accepting the problem, knowing what the alternatives are, understanding the advantages and disadvantage of both, and thinking through my solution.

Reading about both sides of this issue has affected my opinions about the subject in that it has made me realize that there are valid reasons to support both sides. Although I am pro-choice, the pro-life article did make some good points about how an unborn child does not have rights. The author talked about how animals have more rights then an unborn child and how unfair that is. She does have a good point there. It was very difficult to remain neutral while I was writing about this topic. The pro-life author was very strong in her statements on the fetus being a child not "a blob of tissue". (Dew, 1992)

Reading about both sides of the issue has changed my way of thinking somewhat. While I have not changes my own ethical stance on the issue due to the information in the article, I have a better understanding of why some people are pro-life. When the pro-choice author talks about how could she, "kill the life within me?" (Dew, 1992) I can understand that point of view. The author also states that, "2% of the 1.5 million abortions are committed in the US every year are for reasons other then mere convenience." (Dew, 1992) I can agree with that statement as one of the reasons to support being pro-life.

The most important factors involved in making ethical decisions are to recognize the issue, get the facts of both sides of the issue, and evaluate alternative solutions, and