Abortin

4 Pages 985 Words

The issue of abortion and its controversies dates as far back as the early Greek period. According to the Greek Philosopher Aristotle he says that “for a society to be healthy, it must kill some kids”. He wrote, “There must be a law that no imperfect or maimed child shall be brought up. And to avoid an excess in population, some children must be exposed [on a trash heap to die]. For a limit must be fixed to the population of the state” (Philosophers-Kings). While the Christians, especially the Catholics have categorically opposed both abortion and the killing of babies and has equated this act to the murdering of a human being. But the actual movement to legalize abortion did not start until the twentieth century, with the court case of Roe v. Wade in 1973 in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. In this paper, I will be presenting the claims and views on this issue made by Pope John Paul II and Mary Anne Warren. And I will conclude by stating my position on the fact that an abortion is morally permissible, especially in cases like rape or severe health issues.
The first writer Pope John Paul II claims that abortion is the direct destruction of innocent human life. He argues that “from the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life has began, which is neither that of the father nor the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth”. The Pope draws most of his claims using the divine command theory (which states that moral living consists in obedience to divine commands). He claims that “to kill a human being, in whom the image of God is present, is particularly serious sin. Only God is the master of life”. He uses a number of biblical quotes to support his claims and argument, most prominently from Exodus 20: which says “Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). The Pope goes on...