Abortion and Morality: An Interest Based Approach

Abstract

Abortion is a widely discussed socio-ethical issue in the field of bioethics. Writers and researchers always show their interest about the issue keeping it in the centre of morality. The whole world thinking on the matter is divided into two groups-liberals and conservatives. Arguments are offered from the both sides to defend their own positions. Liberals are in the favour of the issue whereas conservatives are in the opposite side. Later we find another dimension of discussions offered by the feminist to overcome all kinds of prejudices related to the matter. According to the feminist view the body of the women is in the centre and the other factors which are considered by the different groups are secondary. A woman can exercise her rights whether the foetus will be carried to come on earth or to terminate it. They are purely individualistic. We can put all the groups, following David Boonin, as ‘Defender of abortion’ and ‘Critic of abortion’. Apart from these two approaches a different approach must be accounted for, i.e. interest based approach. It may also be called as third dimension of the issue of abortion. In this approach the main thesis whether abortion is morally permissible or not will be judged in the light of interest-the interest of the mother, foetus and the society at large. It will be shown that the interest of the pregnant women who will carry the foetus in her womb till birth must be considered with priority. In this way we will be able to show that abortion in some particular cases where the interest of the mother is in question can be morally permissible. Ultimately we will try to find out a new kind of attitude to resolve the issue to make it more fit with the sophisticated world. We want to approach to the issue from a different dimension, i. e. from the interest based dimension.