The abortion debate is a longstanding and contentious discourse that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
. In
English-speaking countries
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
, the debate has two major sides, commonly referred to as the "
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
" and "
pro-life" movements. Generally, supporters of ''pro-choice'' argue for the right to choose to terminate a
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
. They take into account various factors such as the stage of
fetal development
Prenatal development () involves the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal deve ...
, the health of the woman, and the circumstances of the
conception. By comparison, the supporters of ''pro-life'' generally argue that a fetus is a human being with
inherent rights and
intrinsic value, and thus, cannot be overridden by the woman's choice or circumstances and that abortion is morally wrong in most or all cases. Both the terms ''pro-choice'' and ''pro-life'' are considered
loaded words in mainstream media, which tend to prefer terms such as "
abortion rights
Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
" or "anti-abortion" as more neutral and avoidant of
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individ ...
.
Each movement has had varying results in influencing public opinion and attaining legal support for its position. Supporters and opponents of abortion often argue that it is essentially a
moral
A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...
issue, concerning the
beginning of human personhood,
rights of the fetus, and
bodily integrity. Additionally, some argue that government involvement in abortion-related decisions, particularly through public funding, raises
ethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
and political questions.
Libertarians, for example, may oppose taxpayer funding for abortion based on
principles
A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...
of
limited government and personal responsibility, while holding
diverse views on the legality of the procedure itself. The debate has become a political and legal issue in some countries with those who oppose abortion seeking to enact, maintain, and expand
anti-abortion laws, while those who support abortion seek to repeal or ease such laws and expand access to the procedure. Abortion laws vary considerably between jurisdictions, ranging from outright prohibition of the procedure to public funding of abortion. The availability of abortion procedures considered safe also varies across the world and exists mainly in places that legalize abortion.
Overview
In ancient times, issues such as abortion and
infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
were evaluated by
patriarchies within the contexts of
family planning
Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marit ...
, gender selection, population control, and property rights. The rights of the prospective mother and child were typically not central to these considerations. Ancient discourse often expressed the concerns on the
nature of humankind, the existence of a
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
, when life begins, and the
beginning of human personhood, issues that are still relevant even today.
Discussion of the presumed
personhood
Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law and is closely tied with legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a legal person (ei ...
of a
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
may be complicated by the current legal status of children. Similar to minors, fetuses and embryos lack certain legal capacities. In many legal systems, a fetus or an embryo does not have the same legal status as a person. They have not reached the age of majority and deemed not able to enter into contracts and to sue or be sued. Since the 1860s, they have been treated as persons for the limited purposes of
offence against the person law in the UK including Northern Ireland, although this treatment was amended by the
Abortion Act of 1967 in England, Scotland, and Wales. In America, there have been logistical challenges in considering a fetus as a person. Some legal interpretations have argued that if a fetus is considered a person, then it is only under certain conditions as it relies on the body of another person and is usually not the object of direct action by another person. In the current debate, proposals range from prohibitions on abortion in all cases, even when the woman's life is at risk, to calls for complete legalization with provisions for public funding.
Terminology
Many of the terms used in the debate are seen as
political framing: terms used to validate one's stance while invalidating the opposition's. For example, the labels
"pro-choice" and "pro-life" imply widely held values such as
liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
or the
right to life
The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...
, while suggesting that the opposition must be "anti-choice" or "anti-life". Terms used in the debate to describe their opponents consist of "pro-abortion", "pro-abort"; however, these terms do not always reflect a political view or fall along a binary. Seven in ten Americans described themselves as "pro-choice" while almost two-thirds described themselves as "pro-life". Another identifier in the debate is "abolitionist", which harks back to the 19th-century struggle against human
slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.
Francis Beckwith argues that even seemingly neutral phrases like "abortion rights" are ideologically loaded. He contends that such language presupposes the moral legitimacy of abortion by framing it as a
fundamental right
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...
, thereby sidestepping the underlying philosophical question of whether the unborn possess a right to life. In doing so, the term shapes public discourse by implicitly framing abortion access as presumptively justified.
Appeals are often made in the abortion debate to the
rights
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
of the fetus, pregnant woman, or other parties. Such appeals can generate confusion if the ''type'' of rights is not specified (whether
civil,
natural
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...
, or otherwise) or if it is simply ''assumed'' that the right appealed to takes precedence over all other competing rights (an example of
begging the question
In classical rhetoric and logic, begging the question or assuming the conclusion (Latin: ) is an informal fallacy that occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion. Historically, begging the question refers to a fault i ...
). The appropriate terms to designate the human organism before birth are also debated. Some anti-abortion supporters regard the technical terminology "
embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
" and "
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
" as
dehumanizing, whereas some abortion rights proponents regard ordinary terms such as "
baby
In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
" or "
child
A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
" as emotion-inducing.
The use of the term "baby" to describe the unborn human organism is seen by some scholars as part of an effort to assign the organism agency, functioning to further the construction of
fetal personhood. Anti-abortion activists occasionally use the term "the silent holocaust" or "the American genocide" about the
number of abortions that have been performed in the United States since 1973.
Political debate
There is abundant debate regarding the extent of abortion regulation by the government. Supporters of abortion rights may argue against the government regulation of abortions, and rather it be treated as routine medical practice. From a
compromising perspective, both sides may support the permission of the government to prohibit elective abortions after the 20th week,
viability, or the second
trimester. Religion has also played a role in the debate. For example, some Christian denominations and groups
generally oppose abortion, believing it more aligns with their
interpretation of the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, and because of this may support the prohibition of some or all abortions, starting from conception. Those who oppose abortion rights may argue against the procedures and nature of
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
. The two sides of the political debate represent the contentious moral principles in the “sanctity of life” versus “the woman's right to choose.”
Abortion debates differ from other public health issues due to complex ethical and legal considerations.
In popular culture, the American romantic drama dance film ''
Dirty Dancing
''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...
'' (1987) is seen by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' as "a clear and unapologetic argument for reproductive choice".
Worldwide stances
Countries that refuse abortions
Abortion and contraception were completely banned in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
from 1967-1989, due to
Decree 770 under Romanian dictator
Nicolae Ceaușescu. As a result, maternal mortality in Romania became the highest in Europe, and thousands of children ended up in
orphanages raised in grievous conditions, leading to a rise in child mortality.
As of 2016, six countries completely outlaw abortion:
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
,
Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. This prohibits a woman from having an abortion for any reason (underage, fetal impairment,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
/
incest
Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
), even if it might mean saving her life.
Penalties include jail time. For example, in El Salvador, abortions are punishable with up to 50 years in prison.
Countries with strict laws
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
allowed abortion only in case of rape or if the woman's health was at risk. In December 2020, the
Argentine Senate
The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina.
Overview
The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...
passed a bill to legalize abortion. Also in 2020, the
Constitutional Tribunal ended almost all legal
abortion in Poland
Abortion in Poland is legal in cases where the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act or when the Maternal health, woman's life or health is in danger. The last change in the Act on Pregnancy Planning of the Republic of Poland took place on 27 J ...
.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
has a free abortion policy but some studies show that its government also uses
forced abortion to enforce strict limits on how many children each family can have.
In the United States, there are increasing efforts to limit access to abortion by states in the wake of the 2022 reversal of Roe v Wade (1973) which allowed for a constitutional right to abortion.
Effects of legalization/illegalization
Abortion rights advocates argue that outlawing abortion increases the rate of
unsafe abortions, as the availability of professional abortion services decreases, and leads to increased
maternal mortality
Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to p ...
. According to a global study collaboratively conducted by the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
and the
Guttmacher Institute, most unsafe abortions occur
where abortion is illegal. Withholding access to safe abortions results in 30,000 abortion-related deaths per year. Women may also choose suicide when abortion is illegal.
The
effect on crime of legalized abortion is a subject of controversy, with proponents of the theory generally arguing that "unwanted children" are more likely to become criminals and that an inverse correlation is observed between the availability of abortion and subsequent crime.
Economist
George Akerlof has argued that the legalization of abortion in the United States contributed to a declining sense of paternal duty among biological fathers and to a decline in
shotgun wedding
A shotgun wedding is a wedding arranged in response to pregnancy resulting from premarital sex. The phrase comes from the figurative imagining that the relatives of the pregnant bride threaten the reluctant male groom with a shotgun in order to ...
s, even when women chose childbirth over abortion, and thus to an increase rather than a decrease in the rate of children born to unwed mothers.
KFF conducted a nationally representative survey of office-based OBGYNs in the U.S. Since Dobbs, 42% of OBGYNs report that they are very or somewhat concerned about their own legal risk when making decisions about patient care and abortion. This could greatly affect how many OBGYNs will continue to practice.
Debates in North America
United States
The ''Dobbs'' decision
As an example of political decisions concerning the abortion debate, in the years following the
''Dobbs'' ruling, state governments have been granted political authority over abortion access and resources. The
issue-framing and
policy-making aspects vary from each perspective and interest but ultimately form the strategic decisions for legislators for support or opposition to their efforts.
The ''
Dobbs'' decision allows other debates to form over several different concepts in other state legislature concerning the terms "privacy" and "liberty interests"
which those cases have determined the foundation of
clinician-patient relationships and private medical decisions. Abortion decisions bring focus onto other state efforts corresponding to abortion, such as limiting access to medication abortions, preventing third parties from assisting anyone seeking an abortion, or punishing women who get abortions.
While evaluating the ''Dobbs'' ruling, the Court had determined the importance of the opposing factors of "respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages...; the protection of
maternal health and safety; the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures;... integrity of the medical profession; the mitigation of fetal pain, and the prevention of discrimination based on race, sex, or disability."
Privacy
In the United States, the debate has been framed as an aspect of privacy. Even though the
right to privacy
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy.
Since the globa ...
is not explicitly stated in many constitutions of sovereign nations, many people see it as foundational to a functioning democracy.
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' has stated that the issue of bodily
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
is "the core" of the abortion debate.
''Time'' defined privacy, concerning abortion, as the ability of a woman to "decide what happens to her own body".
In political terms, privacy can be understood as a condition in which one is not observed or disturbed by government.
Traditionally, American courts have located the
right to privacy
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy.
Since the globa ...
in the
Fourth Amendment,
Ninth Amendment,
Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the
penumbra of the
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
. The landmark decision ''
Roe v Wade'' relied on the 14th Amendment, which guarantees that federal rights shall be applied equally to all persons born in the United States. The 14th Amendment has given rise to the doctrine of
Substantive due process
due process is a principle in United States constitutional law that allows courts to establish and protect substantive laws and certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if they are unenumerated elsewhere in the U.S. Consti ...
, which is said to guarantee various privacy rights, including the right to
bodily integrity.
While governments are allowed to invade the privacy of their citizens in some cases, they are expected to protect privacy in all cases lacking a
compelling state interest. In the US, the compelling state interest test has been developed per the standards of strict scrutiny. In ''
Roe v Wade'', the Court decided that the state has an "important and legitimate interest in protecting the potentiality of human life" from the point of viability on, but that before viability, the woman's fundamental rights are more compelling than that of the state.
Aftermath of U.S. judicial involvement
''
Roe v. Wade'' struck down state laws banning abortion in 1973. Over 20
cases have addressed abortion law in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, all of which upheld ''Roe v. Wade''. Since ''Roe'', abortion has been legal throughout the country, but states have placed varying regulations on it, from requiring
parental involvement in a minor's abortion to restricting
late-term abortions.
After the court ruling, controversies continued, sometimes passionately.
Judith Blake, for example, even before the ruling, predicted a backlash in attitudes about abortion in "Abortion and Public Opinion" (1971).
After the ruling, her research indicated a considerable discrepancy between the views of the Court and those of the public at large. Meanwhile, philosophers and theologians (including Roger Wertheimer and Edmund Pincoffs) debated questions such as whether there is any rational basis for deciding whether a zygote, embryo, or fetus must be considered to be a human being.
Legal criticisms of the ''Roe'' decision address many points, among them are several suggesting that it is an overreach of judicial powers, or that it was not properly based on the Constitution, or that it is an example of
judicial activism and that it should be overturned so that abortion law can be decided by legislatures. Justice
Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform ...
, who joined with the majority, viewed the ''Roe'' opinion as "legislative" and asked that more consideration be paid to state legislatures.
Candidates competing for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 presidential election cited ''
Gonzales v. Carhart'' as judicial activism. In upholding the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, ''Carhart'' is the first judicial opinion upholding a legal barrier to a specific abortion procedure.
''
Dobbs v. Jackson'' overturned the ''Roe'' decision on 24 June 2022. This was a Supreme Court decision about Mississippi's law stopping abortions after 14 weeks.
Although there is a general presumption against a state's ability to regulate extraterritorially (i.e., beyond its borders), legal authority suggests that the Constitution does not prohibit a state from regulating abortion travel.
Canada

With ''
R v. Morgentaler'', a 5–2 majority of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
held that the abortion provisions of the Criminal Code were unconstitutional. The majority of the Court held that the abortion provisions infringed the rights of pregnant women, contrary to the
security of the person clause of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
, and could not be justified. The only laws currently governing abortion in Canada are those that govern medical procedures in general, such as those regulating the licensing of facilities, the training of medical personnel, and the like.
Laws also exist which are intended to prevent anti-abortion activists from interfering with staff and patient access to hospitals and clinics, for instance by creating buffer zones around them.
Because the courts did not establish abortion as a constitutional right, Parliament continues to have jurisdiction to legislate concerning abortion. The Progressive Conservative government of
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
twice attempted to do. The first bill, introduced in 1988, was defeated in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. The next year, in 1989, the Mulroney government introduced a bill that would allow abortion only if two doctors certified that the woman's health was in danger. This bill passed the House of Commons but was defeated by a tie vote in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. There have not been any further government attempts to enact legislation relating to abortion in Parliament since then.
Although the courts have not ruled on the question of fetal personhood as a matter of constitutional law, the question has been raised in two cases, ''
Tremblay v. Daigle'' and ''
R. v. Sullivan''. Both cases relied on the
born alive rule, part of Canadian common law and Quebec civil law, to determine that the fetus was not a person by law.
Two further cases are notable: ''
Dobson (Litigation Guardian of) v. Dobson'', and ''Winnipeg Child & Family Services (Northwest Area) v G.(D.F.)'', which dismissed fetal abuse claims.
Personhood
There are differences of opinion as to whether a zygote/embryo/fetus
acquires "personhood" or was always a "person". If "personhood" is acquired, opinions differ about when this happens.
Traditionally, the concept of
personhood
Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law and is closely tied with legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a legal person (ei ...
entailed the
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
, a
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...
concept referring to a non-corporeal or extra-corporeal dimension of
human being. Today, the concepts of
subjectivity
The distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a basic idea of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Various understandings of this distinction have evolved through the work of countless philosophers over centuries. One b ...
and
intersubjectivity,
person
A person (: people or persons, depending on context) is a being who has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations suc ...
hood,
mind
The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...
, and
self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
have come to encompass several aspects of human beings previously considered the domain of the "soul". Thus, while the historical question has been: when does the
soul enter the body, in modern terms, the question could be put instead: at what point does the developing individual develop personhood or selfhood?
Since human development occurs continuously, identifying a precise time when a human being becomes a person could lead to an instance of the
Sorites paradox (also known as ''the paradox of the heap'').
Related issues attached to the question of the beginning of human personhood include the legal status, and subjectivity of the pregnant woman and the philosophical concept of "natality" (i.e. "the distinctively human capacity to initiate a new beginning", which a new human life embodies).
In the 1973 US judgment ''Roe v. Wade'', the opinion of the justices included the following statement:
Fetal pain
A 2005 multidisciplinary systematic review in ''
JAMA
''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...
'' in the area of fetal development found that a fetus is unlikely to feel pain until after the sixth month of pregnancy.
Developmental
neurobiologists suspect that the establishment of
thalamocortical connections (at about 26 weeks) may be critical to fetal perception of pain. However, legislation was proposed by anti-abortion advocates that would require abortion providers to tell a woman that the fetus may feel pain during an abortion procedure if the woman's proposed abortion was at least 20 weeks after fertilization.
The ''JAMA'' review concluded that data from dozens of medical reports and studies indicate that fetuses are unlikely to feel pain until the
third trimester of pregnancy.
However several medical critics have since disputed these conclusions.
Other researchers such as Anand and Fisk have challenged the idea that pain cannot be felt before 26 weeks, positing instead that pain can be felt at around 20 weeks.
Anand's suggestion is disputed in a March 2010 report on fetal awareness published by a working party of the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), citing a lack of evidence or rationale. Page 20 of the report definitively states that the fetus cannot feel pain before week 24. Because pain can involve sensory, emotional and cognitive factors, leaving it "impossible to know" when painful experiences are perceived, even if it is known when thalamocortical connections are established. In December 2022, the RCOG conducted a review of the existing literature surrounding fetal pain awareness, and concluded, "To date, evidence indicates that the possibility of pain perception before 28 weeks of gestation is unlikely."
Wendy Savage—former press officer, Doctors for a Woman's Choice on Abortion—considered the question to be irrelevant. In a 1997 letter to the ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...
'', she noted that the majority of surgical abortions in Britain were performed under general anesthesia which affects the fetus, and considers the discussion "to be unhelpful to women and to the scientific debate". Others caution against the unnecessary use of fetal anesthetic during abortion, as it poses potential health risks to the pregnant woman.
David Mellor and colleagues have noted that the fetal brain is already awash in naturally occurring chemicals that keep it sedated and anesthetized until birth. At least one anesthesia researcher has suggested the fetal pain legislation may make abortions harder to obtain because abortion clinics lack the equipment and expertise to supply fetal anesthesia. Anesthesia is administered directly to fetuses only while they are undergoing surgery.
Fetal personhood debate
Although the two main sides of the abortion debate tend to agree that a human fetus is biologically and genetically human (that is, of the human species), they often differ in their view on whether or not a human fetus is, in any of various ways, a ''
person
A person (: people or persons, depending on context) is a being who has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations suc ...
''. Anti-abortion supporters argue that abortion is morally wrong on the basis that a fetus is an innocent
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
person
A person (: people or persons, depending on context) is a being who has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations suc ...
[Warren 1991.] or because a fetus is a potential life that will, in most cases, develop into a fully functional human being. They believe that a fetus is a person upon conception. Others reject this position by distinguishing between ''human being'' and ''human person'', arguing that while the fetus is ''innocent'' and ''biologically human'', it is not a ''person'' with a ''right to life''. In support of this distinction, some propose a list of criteria as markers of
personhood
Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law and is closely tied with legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a legal person (ei ...
. For example,
Mary Ann Warren suggests
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
(at least the capacity to feel pain),
reasoning
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
, self-motivation, the ability to
communicate, and
self-awareness
In philosophy of self, philosophy, self-awareness is the awareness and reflection of one's own personality or individuality, including traits, feelings, and behaviors. It is not to be confused with consciousness in the sense of qualia. While ...
.
According to Warren, a being need not exhibit all of these criteria to qualify as a person with a right to life, but if a being exhibits ''none'' of them (or perhaps only one), then it is certainly not a person. Warren concludes that as the fetus satisfies only one criterion, consciousness (and this only after it becomes
susceptible to pain),
the fetus is not a person and abortion is therefore morally permissible. Other philosophers apply similar criteria, concluding that a fetus lacks a right to life because it lacks
brain waves or higher brain function, self-consciousness, rationality, and autonomy. These lists diverge over precisely features confer a right to life, but tend to propose various psychological or physiological features not found in fetuses.
Critics of this typically argue that some of the proposed criteria for personhood would disqualify two classes of ''born'' human beings – reversibly
comatose patients, and human infants – from having a right to life, since they, like fetuses, are not self-conscious, do not communicate, and so on. Defenders of the proposed criteria may respond that the reversibly comatose ''do'' satisfy the relevant criteria because they "retain all their ''unconscious'' mental states". or at least some higher brain function (brain waves). Warren concedes that infants are not "persons" by her proposed criteria,
and on that basis, she and others, including the moral philosopher
Peter Singer, conclude that
infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
could be morally acceptable under some circumstances (for example if the infant is severely disabled or to save the lives of several other infants).
An alternative approach is to base personhood or the right to life on a being's ''natural'' or ''inherent'' capacities. On this approach, a being
essentially has a right to life if it has a ''natural capacity'' to develop the relevant psychological features; and, since human beings do have this natural capacity, they essentially have a right to life beginning at
conception (or whenever they come into existence). Critics of this position argue that mere genetic potential is not a plausible basis for respect (or for the right to life), and that basing a right to life on natural capacities would lead to the counterintuitive position that
anencephalic infants, irreversibly comatose patients, and brain-dead patients kept alive on a
medical ventilator, are all persons with a right to life. Respondents to this criticism argue that the noted human cases in fact would not be classified as persons as they do not have a natural capacity to develop any psychological features. Also, in a view that favors benefiting even unconceived but
potential future persons, it has been argued as justified to abort an
unintended pregnancy
Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed or unwanted at the time of conception, also known as unplanned pregnancies.
Sexual activity without the use of effective contraception through choice or coercion is the predominant caus ...
in favor for conceiving a new child later in better conditions.
Philosophers such as
Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
use the concept of
individuation. They argue that abortion is not permissible from the point at which individual human identity is realized.
Anthony Kenny argues that this can be derived from everyday beliefs and language and one can legitimately say "if my mother had had an abortion six months into her pregnancy, she would have killed me" then one can reasonably infer that at six months the "me" in question would have been an existing person with a valid claim to life. Since division of the zygote into twins through the process of
monozygotic twinning can occur until the fourteenth day of pregnancy, Kenny argues that individual identity is obtained at this point and thus abortion is not permissible after two weeks.
Arguments for abortion rights that do not depend on fetal non-personhood
Bodily rights
An argument first presented by
Judith Jarvis Thomson in her 1971 paper "A Defense of Abortion" states that the fetus is a person and has a right to life, abortion is morally permissible because a woman has a right to control her own body and its life-support functions (i.e. the right to life does not include the right to be kept alive by another person's body). Thomson's variant of this argument draws an analogy between forcing a woman to continue an unwanted pregnancy and forcing a person to allow his body to be used to maintain blood
homeostasis
In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...
(as a
dialysis machine is used) for another person with
kidney failure
Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...
. It is argued that just as it would be permissible to "unplug" and thereby cause the death of the person who is using one's kidneys, so it is permissible to abort the fetus (who similarly, it is said, has no right to use one's body's life-support functions against one's will).
Critics of this argument generally argue that there are morally relevant disanalogies between abortion and the kidney failure scenario. For example, it is argued that the fetus is the woman's child as opposed to a mere stranger; that abortion ''kills'' the fetus rather than merely letting it die; and that in the case of pregnancy arising from voluntary intercourse, the woman has either tacitly consented to the fetus using her body,
or has to allow it to use her body since she is responsible for its need to use her body. Some writers defend the analogy against these objections, arguing that the disanalogies are morally irrelevant or do not apply to abortion in the way critics have claimed.
Alternative scenarios have been put forth as more accurate and realistic representations of the moral issues present in abortion.
John Noonan proposes the scenario of a family who was found to be liable for frostbite finger loss suffered by a dinner guest whom they refused to allow to stay overnight, although it was very cold outside and the guest showed signs of being sick. Noonan argues that just as it would not be permissible to refuse temporary accommodation for the guest to protect him from physical harm, it would not be permissible to refuse temporary accommodation for a fetus.
Other critics claim that there is a difference between artificial and extraordinary means of preservation, such as medical treatment, kidney dialysis, and blood transfusions, and normal and natural means of preservation, such as gestation, childbirth, and breastfeeding. They argue that if a baby was born into an environment in which there was no replacement available for her mother's breast milk, and the baby would either breastfeed or starve, the mother would have to allow the baby to breastfeed. But the mother would never have to give the baby a blood transfusion, no matter what the circumstances were. The difference between breastfeeding in that scenario and blood transfusions is the difference between using one's body as a kidney dialysis machine, and gestation and childbirth.
Freedom and equality
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger ( Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966) was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, founded Planned Parenthood, and was instr ...
wrote: "No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother." From this perspective, some advocates argue that access to abortion is necessary for women to achieve social and legal equality with men, whose life choices are generally less constrained by reproduction.
While concepts like freedom and equality are interpreted differently depending on legal, cultural, and philosophical contexts, some legal scholars and human rights organizations classify reproductive rights as important civil liberties, though this classification is contested by others who view the framing as ideologically prescriptive.
Arguments in support of this classification often cite considerations such as the need for consistent public policy, the potential harms of criminalizing abortion, and the unequal distribution of reproductive healthcare access.
Other critics counter that framing abortion access as the primary means to gender equality risks overlooking alternative reforms—such as enhanced family support, workplace accommodation, or systemic aid for mothers—which some argue could better address root inequalities.
Impacts of criminalization
Some activists and academics, such as
Andrea Smith, argue that the criminalization of abortion furthers the marginalization of oppressed groups such as poor women and women of color. Sending these women into the prison system would do nothing to address the social/political/economic problems that marginalize these women or, sometimes, cause them to require abortions.
Some argue that race and sex-based abortions being prohibited further marginalizes oppressed groups by criminalizing those aspects of abortions. The Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, proposed in Arizona in 2011, prohibited race and sex-based abortions and allowed punishment for those who perform abortions based on that criteria.
[Denbow 2016.] The bill characterized sex-based abortions as sex-based infanticide, and abortions based on the race of the fetus, or the race of the parent of the fetus, were seen as a practice that reinforces aspects of racial discrimination.
Laws like these can be seen as heightening the racialization of certain issues surrounding abortion.
According to the
WHO, criminalization can have a major negative impact on "the provision of quality care" by preventing medical personnel from acting out of fear of retaliation or punishment. The 2022 LTP Evaluation found that doctors were unwilling to conduct late abortions even when the legislation allowed them, preferring to refer pregnant women to clinics abroad out of anxiety for the possibility of exposing themselves to criminal culpability.
This worry even extends to an unfounded fear of being prosecuted for sending their patient to a clinic in a different country where late abortion is permitted.
The criminalization of abortion in certain states has forced women to cross state lines for abortion care. It was found that women living in states with more hostile abortion laws were traveling out of state for abortion care in greater percentages than women living in states with protected abortion access.
[M. H. Smith et al. 2022.] This also brought about the term "abortion deserts", which are locations or counties that have no abortion facilities.
People traveling interstate for abortions decrease their home state's abortion rates, but it increases the percentages of women who will need to travel across state lines to get access to abortion care.
[Moseson et al. 2023.] The travel also comes with other costs, such as transportation, insurance costs, missing work, childcare, etc. that impact the people who need this abortion care.
These burdens tend to disproportionately affect people of color and impoverished people in need of reproductive healthcare.
Abortion criminalization also affects abortion providers by placing strict regulations and requirements on the providers. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider laws (TRAP laws) are state laws that impose annual licensing fees, personnel or facility mandates, etc. on facilities that want to continue to be abortion providers; these regulations are not imposed on other similar clinics or facilities.
[Medoff 2010.] Some criticize these laws as excessive, with many of the regulations seeming excessive. Some states have requirements for room sizes and ceiling heights, room temperatures, procedure supervision, etc. that may make it harder for facilities to acquire licensure or hard for physicians to perform the procedure.
Inefficacy of abortion bans on reducing abortion
Research has been conducted exploring whether banning abortion reduces abortion rates. Researchers from the Guttmacher Institute, the World Health Organization, and the University of Massachusetts concluded that, in countries where abortions were restricted, the number of unintended pregnancies increased. The following table taken from their research shows these findings in greater detail:
Table: Rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion, and proportion of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion, by legal status of abortion for years 2015–19
UI = uncertainty interval.
Abortion safety
Even where abortions are illegal, they continue to take place, however, they are generally done unsafely, both because the need for secrecy tends to be more important than the woman's safety, and due to the lack of training and experience the person performing the abortion. When done correctly by properly trained doctors, abortion is generally safe. Where laws restrict abortion rights, abortions are less safe and result in the deaths of 30,000 women each year.
Population planning
It has been suggested that access to abortion can
help reduce human
overpopulation
Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migr ...
, which is shown to be harmful to the
natural environment
The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...
.
Arguments against abortion
Discrimination
The book ''Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation'' (1983) presented the argument that abortion involves unjust
discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
against the unborn. According to this argument, those who deny that fetuses have a right to life do not value human life, but instead, select arbitrary characteristics (such as particular levels of physical or psychological development) as giving some human beings more value or rights than others.
In contrast, philosophers who define the right to life by reference to particular levels of physical or psychological development typically maintain that such characteristics are morally relevant, and reject the assumption that all human life necessarily has value (or that membership in the species ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' is in itself morally relevant).
Some abortion opponents have argued for, and promoted legislation for, a ban on the abortion of fetuses that have been diagnosed with
Down syndrome on the basis that such abortions unfairly discriminate against
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...
people.
Critics of these measures charge that they are hypocritical since many of their proponents appear to be unconcerned with addressing the needs of living disabled persons.
In response to one such proposed measure in North Carolina, a spokesperson for Disability Rights North Carolina commented, "We would never think of using limits on someone's bodily autonomy to protect our rights."
Deprivation
The argument of deprivation states that abortion is morally wrong because it deprives the fetus of a valuable future. On this account, killing an adult human being is wrong because it deprives the victim of a "future like ours"—a future containing highly valuable or desirable experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments. If a being has such a future, then killing that being would seriously harm the fetus and hence would be seriously wrong.
[Marquis 1989: 190. The type of wrongness appealed to here is presumptive or '']prima facie
''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight", or "based on first impression". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ' ("first") and ' ("face"), both in the a ...
'' wrongness, and it may be overridden in exceptional circumstances. According to the argument, since a fetus does have such a future, the "overwhelming majority" of deliberate abortions are placed in the "same moral category" as killing an innocent adult human being. Not all abortions are unjustified according to this argument; abortion would be justified if the same justification could be applied to killing an adult human.
Criticism of this line of reasoning follows several threads. Some reject the argument on grounds relating to
personal identity
Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ...
, holding that the fetus is "not the same entity" as the adult into which it will develop, and thus that the fetus does not have a "future like ours" in the required sense. Others grant that the fetus has a "future like ours" but argue that being deprived of this future is not significant harm or a significant wrong to the fetus because there are relatively few "psychological connections" (continuations of memory, belief, desire, and the like) between the fetus as it is now and the adult into which it will develop. Another criticism is that the argument creates inequalities in the wrongness of killing; as the futures of some people appear to be far more valuable or desirable than the futures of other people, the argument appears to entail that some killings are far more wrong than others, or that some people have a far stronger right to life than others—a conclusion that is taken to be counterintuitive or unacceptable.
Argument from uncertainty
Some anti-abortion supporters argue that if there is uncertainty as to whether the fetus has a right to life, then having an abortion is equivalent to consciously taking the risk of killing another. According to this argument, if it is not known for certain whether something (such as the fetus) has a right to life, then it is reckless and morally wrong to treat that thing as if it ''lacks'' a right to life (for example by killing it). This would place abortion in the same moral category as
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
(if it turns out that the fetus has a right to life) or certain forms of
criminal negligence
In criminal law, criminal negligence is an offence that involves a breach of an objective standard of behaviour expected of a defendant. It may be contrasted with strictly liable offences, which do not consider states of mind in determining c ...
(if it turns out that the fetus does not have a right to life).
David Boonin replies that if this kind of argument were correct, then the killing of nonhuman animals and plants would also be morally wrong because Boonin contends it is not known for certain that such beings lack a right to life. Boonin also argues that arguments from uncertainty fail because the mere fact that one might be mistaken in finding certain arguments persuasive (for example, arguments for the claim that the fetus lacks a right to life) does not mean that one should act contrary to those arguments or assume them to be mistaken.
Slippery slope
A primary
slippery slope argument used against the practice of abortion claims that the continuity of human life from conception onward requires that we do not arbitrarily deny life prior to any particular developmental milestone. For otherwise, it would be a slippery slope to the denial of adult human being's right to life because there would only be an arbitrary difference between the two cases. Thus the argument concludes that the only non-arbitrary and fair point at which to distinguish when human life has a stringent right to life and when it does not is at conception.
Another argument used by anti-abortion activists is the slippery slope argument, that normalizing abortion may lead to the normalization of other practices such as
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
.
Mental health
Some anti-abortion activists argue that having an abortion can cause long-term harm to a woman's emotional and physical health.
Religious beliefs
Views from different religions can often be in direct opposition to each other. Muslims typically cite the Quranic verse 17:31 which states that a fetus should not be aborted out of fear of poverty. Christians who oppose abortion support their views with Scripture references such as that of
Luke 1:15;
Jeremiah 1:4–5;
Genesis 25:21–23;
Matthew 1:18; and
Psalm 139:13–16. The
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
and
Oriental Orthodox Churches
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...
, constituting approximately 70% of Christians worldwide, believe that human life begins at conception, as does the right to life; thus, abortion is considered immoral. Most
Evangelical Christians also consider abortion to be immoral. The
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
also considers abortion to be morally wrong, though their position admits abortion when "the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother".
Feminist arguments
Some feminists have argued that abortion does not liberate women, but gives society an excuse to not allow women who are mothers to access financial and social services that would benefit them more, such as better access to childcare, workplaces acknowledging the needs of mothers, and state support to help women reintegrate into the workplace. Further, they argue that if women did not have easy access to abortions, governments would be forced to invest more money into supporting mothers.
Other feminists oppose abortion because it distracts from other women's issues. Writer Megan Clancy argued that:
Some feminists have argued that abortion is inconsistent with feminist principles of justice and opposition to discrimination and violence.
Feminists for Life
Feminists for Life of America (FFL) is a non-profit, anti-abortion feminist, non-governmental organization (NGO). Established in 1972, and now based in Alexandria, Virginia, the organization publishes a biannual magazine, ''The American Feminist' ...
, an anti-abortion feminist organization, argued that:
Some feminists see abortion as an excuse for men to not take responsibility for sexually exploiting women because abortion prevents men from having to take care of any children the woman has as a result of the sexual intercourse.
Argument from equality and biological parents' responsibility
Abortion rights entail that persons capable of becoming pregnant have the right to relinquish their future parental responsibility; however, the biological fathers of their born children do not have the same right to relinquish their future parental responsibility, thereby violating equality of rights. Turning this argument around, the principle of equal rights and responsibilities, along with biological parents' responsibility toward their born children, implies that either the right to abortion or the right not to be coerced into abortion does not exist.
Other factors
Mexico City policy
The Mexico City policy is a U.S. federal government policy requiring any
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
that is based outside the U.S. and receives U.S. government funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services.
It is known by critics as the "global gag rule".
Kelly Lifchez and Beatriz Maldonado cite studies showing that "the policy results in higher abortion rates, more unwanted births, higher maternal mortality, worse health status for unwanted children, and substantial reductions in the provision of family planning services in countries that rely on U.S. funding for family planning." The Mexico City policy was instituted under
President Reagan, suspended under
President Clinton, reinstated by
President George W. Bush, suspended again by
President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
on 24 January 2009 and re-instated once again by
President Donald Trump on 23 January 2017. In 2021, President Biden rescinded the Mexico City policy.
Public opinion
A number of opinion polls around the world have explored public opinion regarding the issue of abortion. Results have varied from poll to poll, country to country, and region to region, while varying with regard to different aspects of the issue.
In North America, a poll in April 2009 surveyed people in the United States about
U.S. opinion on abortion; 18% said that abortion should be "legal in all cases", 28% said that abortion should be "legal in most cases", 28% said abortion should be "illegal in most cases" and 16% said abortion should be "illegal in all cases". A November 2005 poll in Mexico found that 73.4% think abortion should not be legalized while 11.2% think it should be. A May 2024 poll in Canada found that a majority of Canadians (80%) are in favour of a woman’s right to an abortion if she so chooses, while around one in ten (11%) are opposed, and 9% don’t know where they stand on the matter.
A May 2005 survey examined attitudes toward abortion in 10 European countries, asking respondents whether they agreed with the statement, "If a woman doesn't want children, she should be allowed to have an abortion". The highest level of approval was 81% (in the Czech Republic); the lowest was 47% (in Poland). In 2019, 58% of Poles supported abortion on request up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
A 2021 study showed that abortion providers faced discrimination and termination in the workplace, death threats, harassment, and impacts to their private and personal lives for them and their families. The same study shows that the providers continue to work in the field due to their commitment to women's health and pro-choice cause.
As of 2022, after the overturn of ''Roe vs Wade'' by the Supreme Court, a ''Wall Street Journal'' poll conducted in March showed that 60% of voters believed that abortion should be legal in most cases, an increase of 5% earlier in the year. 29% of participates believed it should be illegal in most cases, except for endangerment of the woman, rape, or incest. Lastly, 6% said it should be illegal in all cases, down from 11% earlier that same year. A 2024 Pew Research Center poll reported 63% of Americans believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The poll found that the share of Americans living in states with abortion bans or restrictions who believe abortions should be easier to access has increased by 12%. This poll found little difference based on gender (61% of men generally supportive vs 64% of women) with education and especially religious affiliation being better predictive factors. It also shows that younger people tend to be more positive towards abortion with the 50-64 group being the most negative.
African countries have different views based on region and cultural influences. In Kenya, both male and female opinions show that abortion is frowned upon, due to embedded social norms that stem from religious and cultural beliefs. While younger generations are starting to normalize abortions, limited access to procedure, high costs, and lack of information still leads to unsafe abortion practices. In Nigeria, the abortion laws are even stricter. Rather than being ostracized by the community, abortion in Nigeria can lead to life imprisonment for both the abortion seekers and those who assist them. The country's government has outlawed abortion in all cases except to save the life of the pregnant person. In a survey of women, many cited religion, incomplete abortion, future infertility, and death as a fear when seeking abortion in Nigeria.
Of attitudes in South America, a December 2003 survey found that 30% of Argentines thought that
abortion in Argentina should be allowed "regardless of situation", 47% that it should be allowed "under some circumstances", and 23% that it should not be allowed "regardless of situation". A subsequent poll suggested that 45% of Argentinians are in favor of abortion for any reason in the first twelve weeks. This same poll conducted in September 2011 also suggests that most Argentinians favor abortion being legal when a woman's health or life is at risk (81%), when the pregnancy is a result of rape (80%) or the fetus has severe abnormalities (68%). A March 2007 poll regarding the
abortion law in Brazil found that 65% of Brazilians believe that it "should not be modified", 16% that it should be expanded "to allow abortion in other cases", 10% that abortion should be "decriminalized", and 5% were "not sure". Later a poll made in September 2022 found that the 70% of Brazilians where against abortions, 20% where in favor of it, 8% where neither in favor or against it, and 2% didn't know what to answer. A July 2005 poll in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
found that 65.6% said they thought that abortion should remain illegal, 26.9% that it should be made legal, and 7.5% that they were unsure.
The attitudes in Asia vary. More secular parts of Asia such as Japan and Taiwan are more likely to favor abortion, and more religious parts such as Pakistan and Indonesia are more likely to oppose abortion. Other countries, such as China, are in between but still slightly favoring abortion. A worldwide survey conducted in 2022 reported that 14% of Chinese thought that
abortion in China should be "legal in all cases", 34% that it should be "legal in most cases", 20% that it should be "illegal in most cases", and 13% that it should be "illegal in all cases", with 20% that did not respond. The same survey reported that 17% of Japanese thought that
abortion in Japan should be "legal in all cases", 32% that it should be "legal in most cases", only 7% that it should be "illegal in most cases", and a very small minority of 2% that it should be "illegal in all cases", with an overwhelming 43% that did not respond. The survey also reported that 14% of Malaysians thought that
abortion in Malaysia should be "legal in all cases", 18% that it should be "legal in most cases", 25% that it should be "illegal in most cases", and 20% that it should be "illegal in all cases", with 23% that did not respond, amounting to almost half the population with a negative view of abortion.
According to global surveys in 2023 and 2024, the right to access legal abortion is widely supported. There is particularly strong widespread support for legal abortion in Europe.
More than one in two (56%) across 29 countries believe abortion should be legal, including more than one in four (27%) who feel it should be legal in all cases. Support for abortion is highest in Europe, with Sweden and France having the highest level of sentiment in believing abortion should be legal (87% and 82% respectively). Support is lowest in Asia, with Indonesia and Malaysia the only countries where less than one in three think abortion should be legal (22% and 29% respectively).
Effect upon crime rate
A theory attempts to draw a correlation between the United States' unprecedented nationwide decline of the overall crime rate during the 1990s and the decriminalization of abortion 20 years prior.
The suggestion was brought to widespread attention by a 1999 academic paper, ''
The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime'', authored by the economists
Steven D. Levitt and John Donohue. They attributed the drop in crime to a reduction in individuals said to have a higher statistical probability of committing crimes: unwanted children, especially those born to mothers who are African American, impoverished,
adolescent
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...
, uneducated, and
single. The change coincided with what would have been the adolescence, or peak years of potential criminality, of those who had not been born as a result of ''Roe v Wade'' and similar cases. Donohue and Levitt's study also noted that states which legalized abortion before the rest of the nation experienced the lowering crime rate pattern earlier, and those with higher abortion rates had more pronounced reductions.
Fellow economists Christopher Foote and Christopher Goetz criticized the methodology in the Donohue-Levitt study, noting a lack of accommodation for statewide yearly variations such as cocaine use, and recalculating based on incidence of crime per capita; they found no
statistically significant results. Levitt and Donohue responded to this by presenting an adjusted
data set
A data set (or dataset) is a collection of data. In the case of tabular data, a data set corresponds to one or more table (database), database tables, where every column (database), column of a table represents a particular Variable (computer sci ...
which took into account these concerns and reported that the data maintained the statistical significance of their initial paper.
Such research has been criticized by some as being
utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...
, discriminatory as to race and socioeconomic class, and as promoting
eugenics
Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...
as a solution to crime. Levitt states in his book ''
Freakonomics'' that they are neither promoting nor negating any course of action—merely reporting data as economists.
Breast cancer hypothesis
The abortion–breast cancer hypothesis posits that induced abortion may increase the risk of developing breast cancer. This 1980's paper actually contrasts with other scientific data that abortion is not related causality with breast cancer occurrence.
The hypothesis suggests that during early pregnancy, levels of
estrogen
Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ...
increase, leading to breast growth in preparation for
lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...
, and if this process is interrupted by an abortion – before full maturity in the third trimester – then more relatively vulnerable immature cells could be left than there were prior to the pregnancy, resulting in a greater potential risk of breast cancer. The hypothesis mechanism was explored in rat studies conducted in the 1980s, from the same lab, so it lacks any scientific validation.
Minors
Many states require an unmarried minor to have parental consent or notification before an abortion is allowed to happen.
These are known as
parental involvement laws. The parents or guardians of the pregnant person must be consulted before an abortion is to be induced legally. States with these laws generally have different degrees of involvement and enforcement. A judge can be consulted to overrule a parent in the event the pregnant person is denied abortion services.
Studies have shown that these the required notification laws have not affected the probability that teenagers will engage in sexual activity or the demand for abortion.
[Medoff 2013.] The rate of abortions for minors decreases in states with parental involvement laws by nearly 13 to 22 percent, however, it raises the rate for out-of-state abortions such in the case of Mississippi and Missouri.
Teenagers are shown to seek abortion across state lines to areas with less restrictive abortion laws to bypass these preventative methods. In the United States, 37 states require the parent to have knowledge while only 21 of those states need one parent to consent.
Certain states have an alternative answer to the involvement of the parent by getting the judicial system involved with a judicial bypass. In those states, minors can get permission from the judge if parents are not willing to do so or if they are absent from their lives.
There are different guidelines for minors and abortions in every country. In most of Europe, all persons that are capable of judgment enjoy
medical privacy and can decide medical matters on their own. The capability of judgment does not come at a defined age, however, and is dependent on how well the person is able to understand the decision and its consequences. For most medical procedures, the capability of judgment usually sets in at ages 12 to 14.
Parental involvement is one of the most common methods of restricting abortion, along with Medicaid funding restrictions, mandatory delay laws, licensing fees for abortion providers, and mandatory counseling laws.
Economist
Marshall Medoff has argued that parental involvement laws are largely ineffective at reducing abortion demands. One cause could be that some states do not require parental involvement, so out-of-state abortions could meet the demands.
See also
References
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External links
Findlaw: full text of ''Roe v. Wade'' decision, plus discussion RSRevision.com - Case studies, Christian and non-Christian responses and resources for students
August 1998, AGI-USA.org
Recordingsof the College Historical Society debate on abortion featuring Professor William Binchy, Frances Kissling, and Rebecca Gomperts
Religious perspectives on abortion BBC.co.uk
Pro and Con: Abortion Britannica.com
Should Abortion Be Legal? ProCon.org by Britannica
Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice: Should Abortion be Legal? interactive
argument map
An argument map or argument diagram is a visual representation of the structure of an argument. An argument map typically includes all the key components of the argument, traditionally called the ''Logical consequence, conclusion'' and the ''prem ...
of the abortion debate at
Kialo.com
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Should abortion be legal? – Wikidebate at Wikiversity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abortion Debate
Personhood