Alexandra Bagsic
Philosophy 103
Take Home Exam #1
In many cases, abortion is not deemed permissible by many individuals with the argument that
the fetus is a living person and that it has the right to live. But to counter that argument, there is no doubt
that the mother is a living person. So in that sense, the mother should have the right to decide whether the
fetus should live or not considering that it is inside of her body and in some instances can affect whether
she lives or not. In a psychological study, if an individual was given a choice of whether they would
rescue a five year old or a one year old in a sinking ship, most individuals would choose the five year old.
This is due to the fact that the five year have lived some of his life but the one year old have not yet seen
most of the world and what it is like to live. So in that sense, if there was a pregnant seventeen year old
girl and to have the baby, she would have to die—would it be permissible that she dies for the fetus inside
of her when it has not even seen the world yet?
There are many cases that abortion should be morally permissible. The first and most argued
reason is the mother’s life. If the mother’s life is put in danger, should she not have the right to choose
whether she lives or not? Would it be morally permissible that the doctors know the inevitable but chose
not to do anything? To the same degree, if doctors were able to cure cancer but in exchange, they would
have to choose between a guaranteed life and a life that is quite debatable to be “alive”, would it be right
not to rescue the person who will live indefinitely? On to another topic, would it be morally permissible
for a woman and/or girl to bring a child into this life if there is no way that she can accept it? In cases
where the woman and/or girl was raped and/or molested, it would be quite painful for her to keep the
child as a reminder of what happened to her. Many individuals would agree that in these instances,
abortion would be morally permissible. Now then agreeing to abortion under these conditions, what
difference would it make in other cases? In all other cases, a solid argument can be made for an abortion
to be morally permissible. The only time that abortion would not be morally permissible is when a mother
