On balance, abortion is immoral

To reiterate, I will be arguing that abortion is generally immoral, apart from cases where it is a necessary medical procedure in order to save the life of the mother. Why abortion is immoral My argument is as follows: Premise 1: Abortion is the deliberate killing of a human foetus Premise 2: A human foetus is alive, and so therefore a human foetus is a living human being Premise 3: It is immoral to remove the life of a human being Conclusion: Abortion is immoral Now I will support my premises: Premise 1 Abortion is defined as: 'Expulsion from the uterus of the products of conception before the fetus is viable.' (1) We know, due to the definition of 'viable' in this context, that this procedure will necessarily kill the foetus. Therefore, abortion is the deliberate killing of a human foetus. Premise 2 First I will affirm that a foetus is alive, then I will use this conclusion to affirm that a human foetus is a human being. Life is defined as: 'The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death' (2) Foetuses grow and are subject to continual change preceding death (3). They have the capacity for reproduction given time to develop naturally. Furthermore, to suppose that a foetus is not alive is to either state that a foetus is dead or inanimate. It is not dead because something must have once lived in order to be dead, and it is not inanimate (4). Therefore, a human foetus is alive. All life is characterised into species (5), and as we have affirmed that a human foetus is alive we must also accept that it must belong to a particular species. A human foetus's genetic makeup is most similar to the genetic makeup of the species homo sapiens and so a human foetus is human (which perhaps goes without saying, as if it was not human then we would not refer to it as a human foetus). Therefore, a human foetus is human. Therefore, a human foetus is a human life, which is to say that it is a living human being. Premise 3 To say that it is immoral to remove the life of a human being is to say that we ought not to kill human beings. There are many reasons why I am justified in asserting this moral truth: Rule Utilitarian approach - Having a rule stating 'do not kill human beings' will result in a greater amount of happiness than the absence of such a rule, therefore this it is moral to abide to this rule. Deontologist approach - Killing of a human being is wrong because it is a maxim that cannot be universalised; no rational human being would freely consent to live in a society that permitted the killing of human beings. Evolutionist approach - Permitting the killing of human beings is evolutionarily disastrous, for obvious reasons. Summarily, the killing of human beings is immoral according to the vast majority of normative ethical theories. If my opponent disagrees and argues that killing of human beings is morally justified (aside from cases of self-defence), then he will have the burden of proof, as he is making the positive claim that killing of human beings is morally justified. Therefore, it is immoral to remove the life of a human being. As I have now asserted the veracity of all my premises, the conclusion deductively follows. Therefore, abortion is immoral. Argument from Consistency In order to hold a rational moral assertion, it must be consistent. So, in order to be rational, we must abide by the maxim: 'Treat someone as we would consent to be treated if we were in the same situation as that someone.' An example of moral inconsistency would be stating: 'I am morally justified in throwing sticks at my mother, but I would not consent to having sticks thrown at me if I was in the same situation as my mother'. I argue that abortion is inconsistent according to these terms. To assert that abortion is morally justified is to be morally inconsistent, as it is equivalent to saying: 'I am morally justified in killing a human foetus, but I would not consent to being killed if I was a human foetus.' Unless, of course, the pro-abortionist would consent to being killed if they were a human foetus, but I highly doubt they would be serious in holding this conviction. This becomes especially prevalent because it is not hypothetical, as everyone was once a foetus and so nobody can be exempt from the consistency criteria. As asserting the moral permissibility of abortion is inconsistent, it is an irrational moral belief. Taking the axiom that irrational moral beliefs are not veridical, abortion is immoral. (1)http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...... (2)http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...... (3)http://www.babycentre.co.uk...... (4)http://www.webmd.boots.com...... (5)http://en.wikipedia.org......