"Roe vs. Wade": Ethical Position

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the legal decision found in the case, "Roe vs Wade." The paper specifically focuses on the ethical considerations of the ruling with regards to abortion and when the termination of a pregnancy can be considered immoral. It discusses the stages of gestation and how that played a part in the legal decision in this case.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - The Decision
Legal Argument Supporting the Roe Decision
Ethical Argument Supporting the Roe Decision
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Conversely, mere "humanness" by itself does not necessarily give rise to ethical concern either, which is a position already incorporated into medical ethics (and penal law) as pertains to indefinitely comatose patients deemed unlikely to regain consciousness. In fact, in many respects, the unconscious brain-dead patient allowed by law to be disconnected from artificial life support is closely analogous to the situation of the fetus insufficiently developed to experience consciousness, but already capable of surviving outside the womb with intensive medical support. If it is ethical and legal to disconnect a fully developed adult human being by virtue of the indefinite lack of consciousness, then it is unclear how one would justify granting rights to the early-term fetus, based merely on its being human, provided it is not yet capable of sensing pain."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abrams, N., Buckner, M.D. (1989) Medical Ethics: A Clinical Textbook and Reference for the Health Care Profession. Cambridge: MIT
• Hall, K.L. (1992) The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press
• Miller, A.R. (1988) Miller's Court. New York: Houghton-Mifflin
• Reiman, J.H. (1999) Abortion and the Ways We Value Human Life. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield

More papers on "Roe vs. Wade": Ethical Position:

• Analytical Essay # 126576 : "Roe v. Wade and Social Change"
• Research Paper # 12722 : "Abortion in U.S."
• Persuasive Essay # 62812 : "Abortion Should Be Outlawed"

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