Can Abortion Ever Be Justified?

Religion fuels much of the intensity of the abortion debate. Modern government is purposefully separated from religion. In the Western world, the teachings of any one religion shouldnÐŽ¦t and donÐŽ¦t dominate the laws of a nation. However the morals and beliefs of the people are what establishes the morals and beliefs of a government. And the abortion debate is not just one of religious attributes, it is one of morality, legality, political and scientific concerns too. And it does not just concern the black and white debate of wrong and right, this at least is commonly agreed upon although many sides use many different types of argument to proves their points.

Morals are dictated by the beliefs and feelings of society. Society today views life as precious, and as being something that should be protected. This is evident by the amount of ЎҐpro-lifeÐŽ¦ pressure groups that hold weight. Such as The Association of Pro- Life Obstetricians and LIFE. Polls show that most people think that abortion is wrong in the way it is legal today, but only a small percentage of these are against abortion outright. Many religions that dominate culture have denounced the practice, however every one of these has also outlined extreme circumstances where induced abortions may be permitted, thus not outlawing the science and technology of abortion. The circumstances are similar with regards to political leaders speaking out concerning the issue. If this is a fair representation of society, then the morals dictated by this are confused and unclear. Is abortion morally wrong? Can it ever be justified?

In the UK abortion became illegal in 1861 under ЎҐThe Offences Against the Person ActÐŽ¦ when the penalty for 'procuring a miscarriage' was life imprisonment. This was backed up in 1929 in the Infant Life Preservation Act. Women trying to escape the burden of an unwanted pregnancy were forced to use unreliable and dangerous methods, including poisonous drugs, knitting needles, soap or lead solutions inserted through syringes, as well as blows to the abdomen. In 1938 in the ЎҐBourneÐŽ¦ Case, Gynaecologist Aleck Bourne was acquitted of performing an illegal abortion on a girl who had been raped. This is an example of moral values affecting an argument. After this case it was accepted that ЎҐa womanÐŽ¦s mental state could be considered as well as her physical conditionÐŽ¦ (1) This, along with the number of women suffering and dying as a result of illegal abortions created pressure for reform. Finally, after the first international abortion conference in 1967 (which put forward the moral argument as well as objective knowledge about womenÐŽ¦s health issues), Liberal MP David Steel's Abortion Law Reform Bill took effect on 27 April 1968. The Act protected doctors who performed abortions as long as there were suitable grounds for abortion. The Act also outlined the grounds accepted for legal abortion: (2)

1 Risk to the life of the mother Up to 40 weeks

2 To prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the mother Up to 40 weeks

3 Risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the mother if greater than if the pregnancy were terminated Only up to 24 weeks

4 Risk of injury to the physical or mental health of existing (i.e. born) children Only up to 24 weeks

5 Substantial risk of the child being born seriously handicapped Up to 40 weeks

6 In an emergency- to save the mothers life Up to 40 weeks

7 In an emergency- to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the mother Up to 40 weeks

This was amended in 1990 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act which lowered the upper limit from 28 to 24 weeks for most abortions, due to the fact that advances in medicine mean it is now possible to keep some babies alive born after about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Since 1967, there have been over 20 unsuccessful attempts in Parliament to restrict the law, prompted by pressure groups opposed to legal abortion. They aim to stop ЎҐabortions on demand, (3) as they feel that the worth of human life is being downplayed as more and more women are having abortions ЎҐbecause they want toÐŽ¦(4).

In 1990 there was an abortion every 3 seconds (5), and this statistic is probably much higher today. Also over 1/3 of women in Great Britain have had an abortion by the age of 45. However it is the general consensus that abortion statistics should not be generalized, as it is circumstances that determine the justification of abortions.

The key issues and questions surrounding abortions vary depending on the group or individual. Many religious denominations feel that what separates killing a human or animal from killing a vegetable is not life, but the ability to think and feel pain. Due to this, key issues are; When can a foetus feel pain? and When can it think? As well as the obvious When is a foetus a human?

The dictionary definition of abortion is ЎҐthe premature termination of pregnancy by spontaneous or induced expulsion of a nonviable foetus from the womb.ÐŽ¦(6).The problem many have with this is that it is impossible to say when the foetus becomes viable, that is to say, when it will survive ex utero. In November 1997 a baby survived being born by caesarean section it the 20th week of pregnancy. Before this it was thought no baby could survive any earlier than 26 weeks. Clinically, a foetus is a human once it can survive independently, ex utero. The development of a foetus (see appendices 1 and 2) shows that by 24 weeks that foetus has the form and full skeleton of a baby, its eyes are open, its heart beating and it can hear and move, this can be proven scientifically and is therefore an example of scientific knowledge. What is harder to determine scientifically is when the foetus can think and feel. The Medical Research Council claims that a foetus can feel pain at 20 weeks, whereas the Royal Council of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists say that the foetus cannot feel pain until it is at least 26 weeks old.

Religiously there are different opinions as to when the foetus stops being ЎҐa potential human being and becomes a human being with potentialÐŽ¦ (7). In 1869 Pope Pius VI declared that 'ensoulment' (gaining a soul) happened at conception, and therefore the foetus is a human with the same rights as everyone else from that moment. The Roman Catholic Church is the only major world religion to rule that abortion is absolutely