Case Study on Abortion
Despite the legal abortion’s legal acceptance in various states, it is still regarded as an ethically contentious deliberation. Notably, the debate can trigger various ethical and moral dilemmas. However, the gist of the abortion debate lies in the ability to make judgments based on the utilitarianism perspective. In essence, the moral dimension of the case involving the senators blocking the candidates who are not avowedly pro-choice on abortion is wrong based on the utilitarianism perspective. According to the utilitarianism perspective, the decision is acknowledged to be wrong or right based on the outcomes it has on the people.
The effect of their actions can determine the senator’s decision to advocate for pro-choice. Arguably, their act of blocking the candidates who are pro-life will lead to increased termination of pregnancies. From a moral and ethical dimension, “it is the goodwill that directs people to do what they ought to do rather than what they wish to do or what will benefit them” (Ruggiero 151). Thus, the senator’s decision to block the pro-choice candidates can be analyzed using the benefits it will have on the benefits of pro-choice.
Conversely, proponents of utilitarianism ethics believe that the most ethical decision is the one that will lead to better outcomes than harm. Arguably, the decision to block pro-life candidates will lead to more harm because it will uphold pregnancies’ legal termination. Additionally, it will contradict the Christian perspective that believes only God has the authority to take life (MacKinnon and Fiala 241). Therefore, blocking the candidates avowedly not pro-choice will not be an ethical decision based on the utilitarianism perspective.
In conclusion, the utilitarianism theory provides a framework where an individual can judge the consequences of society’s action. The senators will not be ethically correct to block the pro-life candidates based on their decisions’ possible consequences. In other words, they will indirectly lead to increased abortions and contradict biblical expectations.
Works Cited
MacKinnon, Barbara, and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Cengage Learning, 2016.
Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2020.