Abortion

            Abortion has been a controversial subject for many decades. Since the number of people who accept abortion as a normal procedure is about equal to the number those who think of abortion as a crime, there have been a lot of steps taken against abortion, and many in its defense as well. Although abortion has been examined through science and religion, in this assignment I am examining it from an ethical point of view. The best way for someone to refer to abortion on an ethical basis would probably be through the description and evaluation of the subject based on two of the most known theoretical approaches: those of Kant's and of Utilitarianism (Act and Rule). .
             Utilitarianism is concerned with pleasure and pain. Therefore, one should be concerned with the amounts of pleasure and pain in situations where abortion is permitted as opposed to the amounts of pleasure and pain where abortion is forbidden. It is usually suggested that the main consideration would be the interests of the fetus. Not only can its future life be expectedly happy, it might also be the case that the abortion itself is painful, particularly if it occurs later in the pregnancy. However, this focus on the fetus is unwarranted since any suffering involved in the abortion itself can be avoided by simply aborting the pregnancy sooner (before the fetus has even developed the capability of suffering), or with painless techniques. .
             A more significant consideration exists if we assume that the future life of the fetus involves a balance of happiness over suffering. This would seem to be a definite point against abortion, though not a dominant one. The second thing that we should consider are the parents and other family, and guardians if the alternative to abortion is adoption. According to some studies, having a baby appears to decrease the happiness in a relationship - even in those cases where the pregnancy is desired.