When Is It OK To Terminate A Pregnancy?
Some define the point as a number of weeks, others say upon conception, still others say never.
Are these differing opinion based on arbitrary judgements or is there really some way to establish consensus?
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When the fetus has become a viable organism of its own (no longer needing the womb or artificial devices to perform its bodily functions), it is too late to abort, IMHO. I believe this is usually somewhere around the 20th week. That said, different pregnancies go at different rates. For this reason, I don't believe it should be based on a set point in time, but rather when certain characteristics are demonstrated by the fetus. I'm no expert in this field, so I'm not sure what those characteristics should be or how to identify when they've been reached. But if it is possible to do it that way, it would be preferred. 1
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Normally, when a human is born there is a set of functions that it can do on its own and a set that it cannot. By the reckoning of many biologists, the ability to adhere to the norm, viability, is the point when the fetus can be considered a distinct organism. Prior to that point, the fetus would still be biologically a part of the mother, like an organ or her eggs before fertilization. This principle is not universally recognized amongst biologists, but then no view is. That is one of the big problems with the abortion debate: there is no consensus on how to provide a starting point for life. I choose this viewpoint because it looks not at the beginning of life, but rather the beginning of independence, which I think is what we are really discussing when trying to establish the fetus' status. Obviously an infant who has been delivered and is being maintained via artificial support is independent as well, since they have been delivered. In my opinion, I think it is acceptable to terminate a pregnancy if: => The mother's health is at serious risk should the pregnancy go ahead. => The mother does not want the child. After all, it is her body so she should have the choice of what to do with it. => The pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. => The baby will be born with serious defects. 1
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I would argue that when the baby becomes a conscious being is when it is too late to abort. I have to admit, my argument might sound a little harsh, but it's one of my honest philosophies on life and I truly believe it. Do any of you remember anything before the age of one? How about before the age of 6 months? Probably not, right? I believe this is because we are sensory creatures right after birth. Just touching, sucking, reacting to the world around us in a cause and effect way. As we do this our neurons start making connections in our brain and neural networks begin to branch across the cortex, and then finally after enough sensory stimuli in our initial phase of life our consciousness comes online and we are suddenly remembering, learning, predicting. We can reflect on things all of a sudden, we are human. I think it is perfectly reasonable to abort a child any time before that point in the child's life. However, I do think there should still be laws against killing a baby after birth, haha, I'm not that sick. 1
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