Surname 1 Donglin He Dr. Thibault: PHIL3240 July 9th, 2017 Nonsense on Stilts? The question of whether abortion is a woman’s-right to choose or not is one that has haunted human rights activists for long (Khan 34). Although many women’s activists argue that, it is a woman’s right to decide whether to undergo an abortion of not, it is viewed by universal human rights activists as a violation of the unborn child’s rights. This essay analyses how the two sides use the rights theory to pass on their arguments. Firstly, those who argue that women have the right to abortion as they see fit argue that the rights theory grants everyone liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which gives women the right to decide whether they will have an abortion or not (Khan 43). In this case, if they perceive that terminating a pregnancy will help them to pursue happiness, they have a right to terminate it. Apart from that, they argue using the realist rights theory, which argues that humans have intrinsic rights. Basing on the fact that it is the women’s’ body which hosts the baby, it is then their personal right to decide whether to keep the child or not. However, looking on the other side of the issue, the antagonists also argue using the realist rights theory by stating that the unborn child also has equal intrinsic rights like the mother and thus should be preserved and protected from malicious mothers who might intent to harm or terminate them. Apart from that, the antagonists argue that the unborn child also has equal right to life, liberty and pursuance of happiness, thus protecting them from harm is mandatory (Khan 52). Protecting them from harm helps to propagate their rights to life and liberty, thus ensuring Surname 2 that the statues of the human rights are implemented. In addition, justice requires that all people be protected to have full rights; just as the mother was born into the world, so should she give birth without disrupting of harming the unborn child due to its vulnerability (Khan 54). In regard to the utilitarian ethics, women do not have the right to abortion as they see fit. This is because the action would inflict pain and death to the child, pain and grief to the community as well as the family, thus having negative consequences (Mill 72). However, using this school of ethics, abortion can be right if the life of the mother is in danger: the abortion will help to increase happiness of the mother and the community in general. As such, under normal circumstances, the theory denies women the right to abortion as they see fit (Mill 74). In conclusion, it is evident that the issue of whether women have the right to choose to have an abortion or not has strong arguments on both sides of the issue. However, ethics and morality demands that women do not abort their children once conceived, unless the pregnancy has negative consequences to the mother (Khan 66). This is mainly because the unborn child also has rights, which need to be protected by the mother and community in general. Surname 3 Works cited Khan, Zafarullah. Human rights : theory and practice. Karachi : Pakistan Law House, 2007. Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. New York: Elservier, 2017.
Purchase answer to see full attachment