In today’s society, ethical dilemmas facing human beings are sometimes impossible to solve. One of the most controversial issues is abortion. The issue of abortion raises a myriad of discussions. Some people support abortion, while others strongly oppose it. In most cases, both sides have reasons for their positions. The complexity of the abortion issue is due to ethical perspectives in society. Abortion becomes an ethical dilemma due to a number of conflicting issues, such as the woman’s freedom rights, the doctor’s ethical responsibility to the people he/she serves, and the fetus’ right to life. There is an issue of whether some circumstances justify abortion. I agree with the argument that abortion can sometimes be deemed necessary depending on the woman’s situation.

Thesis Statement

I will argue that abortion is ethically permissible since it gives women the freedom to make choices, prevents unnecessary suffering of children, and reduces the mortality rate for expectant mothers.

Discussion

The issue of abortion has become a social problem due to various factors. The debate about abortion centers on the social norms and values that have been set by various groups of people. The issue can be seen to stemming from the different views and values that people hold in relation to their norms and beliefs. Human beings are made to be social beings, and these make them form a set of values that offer directions in relating to and addressing issues (Pacilio)/. There have been people who support and oppose the issue of abortion according to their ascribed values and norms. This makes abortion to be a social problem that elicits different reactions. Some of the people who oppose abortion base their arguments on the ground of normative value structures which are associated with religious beliefs and ideologies (Bennett). People who oppose abortion mostly argue with the religious principles of the sanctity of life and therefore permitting abortion is not in line with the well-being of the society. On the other hand, those that support abortion argue that the decision should be made free for one to choose in a democratic society. Most of them argue that opposing abortion is undermining the rights of women in choosing what to do with their bodies. This makes it a social problem to the inclusion of gender rights.

One of the ramifications of women not having access to abortion is poverty and financial insecurity. Lack of abortion services may lead to having children and result in financial struggles. This can be said to be a lack of enough money to take care of the children, and also, it may hinder the woman from furthering their career or education. This has direct effects on income and thus may present financial insecurity (Muldoon). Another ramification of not having access to abortion services is an increase in health expenditure. When they are no abortion services offered, women will tend to acquire the services from unqualified people, which might result in complications or death. This affects the health sector by having to increase spending on treating complications that result from unsafe abortions.

By legalizing abortion, the government is faced with several major issues that seek to deny the right to abortion, which are raised by pro-life supporters. One of the arguments raised against abortion is the concept that life begins at conception. Therefore, abortion is seen as murder as it involves terminating a human life. Therefore, it does not respect the aspect of the sanctity of human life. The pro-life supporters have put pressure on the federal government in attempts to make abortion illegal nationally. Another major issue that faces the federal government is the lack of a clear and uniform policy on abortion (Ntontis). There have been inconsistencies across the various departments on policies regarding abortion. The ambiguity brings s confusion across the departments where you find some departments of the government have policies that tend to restrict abortion which is contrary to the federal policy on abortion.

Prenatal diagnosis has complicated the issue of abortion, where Amniocentesis and ultrasound can discover congenital disorders in an unborn child. In such cases where the healthcare givers are sure that the resulting child will be mentally or physically disabled, the debate on abortion grows fiercer. Prenatal screening offers the parents to be a chance to choose whether to have a physically challenged child or have an abortion. Fetuses which have been discovered to have Down syndrome are aborted to prevent further complications in life. This is an issue of selective abortion (Pacilio). There is an issue on the right to live against the issue of protecting both the child and the parents from the challenges faced by a disabled child. Nonetheless, the ethical thing i