Abortion is one of the most sensitive and yet puzzling issues that are being faced by numerous communities globally. Numerous situations can lead someone to be left with a choice of conducting an abortion. But numerous societies have been battling out with legal companies on when and why should abortions be conducted. Most communities and governments alike have come to the idea that conducting an abortion is more related to a crime rather than a good act of rescue or relief. In order to make sure that there are limits to this act of misconduct as most people refer to it, abortion laws have been created by various governments so that they can manage to control how these abortions could be carried out and under what circumstances should it be allowed (Levels, Sluiter, & Need, 2014). Different theories have also been used to help explain why the current laws on abortion are valid and relevant. The same theories can also be used to counter the laws on abortion. This document shall, therefore, give a brief explanation on the abortion laws and also explain it further using the natural law moral theory as well as the classical republicanism.
Many nations are looking for ways through which they can contain the abortion issue. However, before you control the problem, it is usually important to understand it first. Abortion is the removal of a fetus or embryo before it has reached the age of surviving outside the uterus so that the pregnancy can be terminated. Religious institutions have come out in retribution to this action by terming it as a crime against life. The main reason behind the argument is that human beings start living at the moment they are conceived. This is the violation of the international law in regards to human right concerning life. However, regardless of this, different countries have different ideas when it comes to abortion. In some countries, abortion has been legalized while in others it has been completely banned and anyone who would be caught in the act or involved in the process they would be greatly prosecuted. For the countries that have chosen to pass the law on abortion, they have certain conditions to make sure that not everyone would just wake up and choose to have an abortion. These countries have stated that for abortion to be allowed for an individual, a registered and certified physician is the only one who is allowed to prescribe and conduct the process. The abortion can be carried out if the doctor notices that the life of the woman is at risk if the pregnancy is to be kept until later. Another strategy that has been used to limit the occurrence of abortion is that most of the medical covers have excluded the option of covering the charges that are involved with abortion. For the ones that choose to cover these costs, the patients have to pay higher payments compared to other individuals. This is because most insurance companies recognize this act as illegal and supporting the move might be in a position of endangering not only the life of the client but also the reputation of the company by supporting and financing such an act within the society.
Most of the organizations that have been created by different people are pro-abortion oriented. However, there are numerous advantages that can be associated with abortion that some of the lawmakers have seen that have led to their legalization of abortion. Why should an individual risk the two lives for the sake of one? This is the basis of most arguments. With abortion, it is possible to save the woman’s life for the sake of the unborn child. Individuals believe that saving the mother is more important because they can be able to conceive once again. But for the child, they might not be certain if they would survive after they have been born and the mother is already dead. In other cases, the woman might have already agreed with their significant other because they might not have been ready to have their child or another child yet. This might have been the only option that they might have in regards to their untimely pregnancy. In other cases, abortion might be the option that is given to an individual who might have conceived the baby through rape, incest or another unacceptable act against the community’s culture. The woman might be advised to get an abortion so that they can be able to control the problem that might have been a shame for the community and the family as a whole.
Even so, certain moral arguments have come up and have managed to counter the abortion laws that have been created within the society. One of such theories is the natural law theory. This is a moral theory is derived from the idea that human being s are driven by their natural instinct to conduct certain actions. The ideas and actions that the human mind brews are believed to result in the creation of certain human rights that are based on pure moral behavior (Finnis, 2011). Philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas believed that these moral behavior were as those that were bound to us through God’s creation. This theory explains that an individual would behave in a certain way through their natural morals and instincts. The theory can thus be used to explain the actions and the reasoning behind abortion.
Human morals do not allow an individual to let another person die or lose their life if they can prevent it. Most of the abortions that are allowed can be said are due to such similar reasons that put the woman at the risk of losing their life if the pregnancy is kept a little bit longer. Therefore, it would be justified that the woman would be advised to conduct an abortion so that they can save their life. The law can be easily accepted basing their judgment that life begins at the point of birth. Naturally, everyone believes that life begins at the point where they are given birth to (d’Entreves, 2017). Carrying out an abortion would thus be harming no one but would be more of saving the life of an individual. In other cases, abortions have to be carried out so that they can save the mental health of the individual. Would it be worth it to save the life of the unborn child for the sake of the life of an individual?
Another theory that has been brought into light is the classical republicanism theory. The theory is also known as the civic humanism theory. This theory explains it that for a government to be considered as the best kind of government, they have always to consider the welfare of the whole community. This theory brings together different factors that can create the rules that will be used to govern a given community or society (Tröhler, 2011). Regardless of the decision that is to be made, the idea should be able to benefit the society at the end of it. Using this theory, the choice of legalizing abortion by a government is as a result of wanting to help members of the society. However, the main plan by most governments when choosing to legalize abortion is to help control the population of the people in that country. The options that can be used for controlling the population are insufficient and this is the one that can easily be accepted by people. For example, in China, there is a law that limits the people in having more than one child so that they can help contain the population of the people. In addition to this, China has also legalized abortion to help the women control their pregnancy once they realize they are pregnant with another child. Not only does the idea of the government to legalize abortion helps it contain the population of the people but on the other end, it helps people who might not be in the position to take care of another child. It also helps them to avoid the repercussions that they might be exposed to when the government finds out that they have a second child.
The natural law theory has some strengths. One of the strength is that it can explain why an individual would choose to conduct an abortion. The theory prioritizes the existing life more than that which is expected. Another strength is that the theory can be used to justify why certain communities might be for or against the act of abortion. The weakness if the theory is that it excludes the element and support of science when stating why abortion should be supported. The strength of the civic humanism theory is that it can bring the bigger picture of the actions and their implications. Just as explained above, the example shows that it is majorly conducted to create a win-win situation between the creators of the law and those who it affects. A weakness of the theory is that it doesn’t give the full picture of the what-if situations that might be tied to abortion such as when an abortion is necessary to save the life of the situation and the law burs abortion from being conducted regardless of the situation.
Based on the two theories, the natural law theory stands out more compared to the classical republicanism. The main reason being that the theory gives a logical explanation of what would drive an individual to conduct abortion especially being that abortions are majorly conducted to save an individual’s life. Regardless of the theory having a downside of not including science, it generalizes that the abortion laws are conducted to due to human instincts which come naturally over certain matters concerning life.
References
d’Entreves, A. P. (2017). Natural law: An introduction to legal philosophy. Routledge.
Finnis, J. (2011). Natural law and natural rights. Oxford University Press.
Levels, M., Sluiter, R., & Need, A. (2014). A review of abortion laws in Western-European countries. A cross-national comparison of legal developments between 1960 and 2010. Health policy, 118(1), 95-104.
Magwood, A., & Ferraro, K. F. (2013). Using Conceptual Tensions and Supreme Court Cases to Increase Critical Thinking in Government and Civics Classrooms. Social Education, 77(4), 206-210.
Pielke, R.A (2014). The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change. Consortium for Science, Policy, & Outcomes.
Rosenbaum, W. A. (2014). Environmental politics and policy. Los Angeles: SAGE, pp. 79-122.
Tröhler, D. (2011). 8 Classical Republicanism, Local Democracy, and Education. Schooling and the making of citizens in the long nineteenth century: Comparative visions, 153.
