Abortion, the pope, and singer
Abortion is one of the most controversial issues today. It has become a question of not only ethics, but morals. In the 1973 case of Roe v Wade the Supreme Court ruled that a woman has the right to terminate a pregnancy by abortion within the first six months of the pregnancy. However, conservative Presidents have changed the legislation enough to allow states to restrict abortion in various ways (Practical Ethics, Peter Singer). In the following paper, I will summarize the views on abortion of Pope John Paul II and philosopher, Peter Singer. These two men have very conflicting opinions about abortion. This argument is very adamantly against abortion. It is also a religiously based argument. He uses exerts from the Bible and other religious documents and quotes many different clergymen and priests to help defend his position. He starts by explaining how you must follow the ten commandments to live a good life and have eternal life. "Jesus replied, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments'" (Mt 19:17). The first of these ten commandments is "You shall not kill". On the contrary, you should 'love respect and promote life' (The Gospel of Life, Paul II). In order to do this,
Paul II's argument against abortion is based completely on religious morals and writings. The first commandment "You shall not kill" has no religious meaning to Singer. His whole argument shows the answer to the question of abortion "within the bounds of non-religious ethics" (Practical Ethics, Singer). Therefor, the arguments of the two men are hard to compare. Viability is the stage of the pregnancy when the fetus can survive outside the womb. In most cases, this is at the beginning of the third trimester. But, in other cases, this may not be until the fetus is born, depending on the medical facilities available. Therefor, viability cannot distinguish between a fetus and a human being, because viability happens at a different time for each woman. make decisions. A person has interests and a desire to live. People are valuable. Is a fetus a person, or just a member of the homosapien race? If they don't have these characteristics, in Singer's view, they are not people. "Since no fetus is a person, no fetus has the same claim to life as a person" (Practical Ethics, Singer). The most important case involving the first commandment of 'You shall not kill' is when it refers to innocent human beings. This is especially so when it refers to defenseless, weak, human beings such as an unborn child or infant. The taking of an innocent life, especially at it's beginning or end, is gravely immoral. This direct and voluntary action will always be regarded as morally evil and can never be considered as necessary, either as an end, or as means to a good end. "Nothing and no none can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, and infant of an adult ... no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for him/herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care ... Nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).
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Approximate Word count = 1607
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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