Week 3 Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 3 Assignment - Essay Example The issue about abortion is highly contemptuous both from the legal, philosophical and more especially theological perspective. While current law tends to be more liberal with the legalization of abortion in some states and some countries, the controversy and debate about its propriety is still as heated as before. The argument whether it is right or wrong has not yet settled and confounded by the equally heated discourse about the woman’s right to choose with what to do with her own body and the fetus/zygote right to live. The arguments about abortion are grounded on several philosophical and theological premises. First is the argument about when did life begin? Some posits that life begins at conception while others argue that life already begun at implantation. The Catholic Church brings forth the argument of its foremost theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas who believed that life actually begins at 40 days for male and 80 for female. He based this theological basis of his from the Greek’s view about fetal development. It became more acceptable however that life begun when the fetus acquired personhood and/or â€Å"ensoulment† which has the same value and right as any human being to live. Having accepted this standard of where life actually begun, limits the argument to the point of when a fetus gains personhood. Development in science has helped to settle this dilemma for it provided that the fetus is already a viable human life at the end of second trimester of pregnancy. But even if perso nhood or ensoulment is already established, there are however circumstances that would make abortion morally acceptable. This particularly true when the pregnancy and/or is threatening the mother’s life that continuing the pregnancy would induce the death the mother. Thus, in this instance, abortion becomes