[CITATION Lew13 p 164 l 1033 ] Another reason may be that a woman was a victim of rape. A woman who becomes impregnated by a rape may want to consider abortion as an option. Some may ask if the issue on abortion has to do with the mother's rights or the unborn child's rights. Some people even argue at what point an unborn child or fetus is considered a human being or person. For most women the abortion controversy is a personal decision, involving judgements about their own body, their own health, and happiness, and their own inner turmoil provoked by life-and-death decisions. [CITATION Lew13 p 163 l 1033 ] The question we must ask ourselves is what is morally right for each of us. Does the child exist at conception? Most laws and state regulations state that abortion is allowed in the first trimester, or when the fetus is 16-20 weeks old. After the first trimester, at 23-24 weeks, a fetus may live outside the uterus or is viable at that point. Most states do not allow abortions to be done after the fetus is considered viable. In the landmark case in 1993 Roe vs. Wade, the court ruled that a woman has a constitutional, but not limited to, right to obtain an abortion in a range of circumstances. According to the court, in the first three months of pregnancy (the first trimester), the woman's right is unrestricted. The decision to have an abortion is up to the woman in consultation with her doctor or physician. [CITATION Lew13 p 165 l 1033 ] My perspective on abortion is that it is not morally permissible unless it is to save the mother's life. To save the life of an unborn child would produce the greatest amount of good for everyone involved. If everyone would follow this morally right action, or rule, it would produce the greatest amount of good for everyone involved. .
Rule-Utilitarian Theory.
As described in the book Doing Ethics, the definition of rule utilitarianism is the theory asserting that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered.
