Essay: Rights of the Unborn Child

Sample Essay

According to Immanuel Kant the mother has the responsibility to the child because she conceived it. Then the question becomes what are the rights of the unborn child. One could argue that the foetus has no rights until certain conditions are met. In most societies which allow abortions this depends on the viability of the foetus. Thus, in effect, before the foetus can survive on its own outside the body it is not an individual and this has no rights.

The question extends to ask what of those women who have been raped or are victims of incest? What of those pregnancies where the foetus is at risk from Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome or a number of life debilitating diseases? Is it fair for people to decide whether the individual woman should bear the financial, mental and ethical responsibility for being that child’s parent? Taking the life of foetus to ease the mental anguish of the individual woman though not wholly without merit does give a form of double effect to the situation.

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