Issues in the Abortion Debate

Excerpts from the Paper

Issues in the Abortion Debate
Introduction
The abortion debate has strong arguments on both sides. The problem is that each side uses the same ethical theories and principles in convincing but contrasting ways. The most debated concept concerns the status and autonomy of the fetus.
Issues in the Debate - Proponents
Personhood
This is the most controversial issue in the abortion debate and the pivotal moral principle is autonomy. Autonomy applies to women because women have rights to self-determination and privacy Gibson, 2004). The fetus has no right to life at any stage of pregnancy. Since the fetus has no right to life, the woman can have an abortion at any stage during pregnancy since only her rights are important. The personhood of the...

.....nstone
, 2009; Jones &
Chaloner
, 2007). Abortion and the use of artificial means to have a child are the only two areas where a nurse may act as a conscientious objector.
References
Browne, A. & Sullivan, B. (2005). Abortion in Canada. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 14, 287-291.
Gibson, S. (2004). The problem of abortion. Bioethics, 18(3), 221-235.
Gillon
, R. (2001). Is there a new ethics of abortion? Journal of Medical Ethics, 27, 5-9.
Johnstone
, M. (2009). Abortion and the politicization of conscience. Australian Nursing Journal, 16(6), 21.
Jones, K. &
Chaloner
, C. (2007). Ethics of abortion. Nursing Standard, 21(37), 45-49.
McCoyd
, J. (2010). Women in no man’s land. British Journal of Social Work, 40, 133-153.