Is Abortion Against Human Rights?

The right to life is the most fundamental and important of all human rights. Medical science has shown that the unborn is a separate human life, which means that abortion often violates human rights.

The Meaning of Human Rights

The vast majority of people believe that to qualify for human rights, an individual must be human. Hence, killing cows, sheep, and other non-human entities does not violate human rights. Once a child is born, they are recognized as human, but before birth, this is not the case.

This decision has been made and enshrined into law by society. The unborn are not granted the same human rights as those who have been born because the criteria for human rights recognition have been set.

Abortion and Human Rights

Properly performed abortions do not violate the rights of others. Human rights are the requirements for the freedom to make decisions based on one's judgement for personal survival. However, the fetus, though a separate human life, does not have this requirement and thus does not have human rights until birth. It has an alternative means of survival, which is the oxygen and nutrients supplied by the mother.

Two Meanings of "Rights"

The term "rights" can refer to legal protections and benefits, such as those outlined in the Bill of Rights. It can also refer to inherent human rights, as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. The question of abortion often involves both of these definitions.

Slavery and Human Rights

A historic example is slavery, where slaves were not recognized as having the legal right to be free yet were considered to have the inherent human right to freedom. This discrepancy leads to the question of whether a given governing authority recognizes the unborn as having human rights.

Different Views on Human Rights

The question "is abortion against human rights" typically refers to whether the unborn have inherent human rights. This involves three major views on moral facts:

Moral Objectivism

Moral objectivism holds that moral facts are person-independent and have correct answers, independent of an individual's beliefs or desires. According to this view, Karen (an unborn child) has the right to life, regardless of how other people perceive it.

Moral Relativism

Moral relativism suggests that rights are determined by the cultural or individual beliefs that get to decide the rights. This is subjective and varies widely among different societies and individuals.

Nihilism

Nihilism denies the existence of any inherent rights, leading to the idea that there is no moral answer to the question of whether the unborn have human rights.

Profound Moral Intuitions

Deep down, humans are programmed to believe in objective moral facts. The belief in the inherent value of the unborn is widely held and is reflected in the difficulty many people face when considering abortion. The pro-choice movement often dehumanizes the unborn to make the decision easier, which parallels the way we use derogatory terms to make it easier to cause harm.

Our moral intuitions, which are a non-religious source of moral truths, strongly support the value of the unborn. This is evident in the emotional difficulty people face when considering abortion.

In Doubt, Assume Human Rights

If there is any real doubt as to whether the unborn have human rights, it is safer to assume they do. Not knowing whether a gun is loaded does not make it morally acceptable to shoot someone. Similarly, if we are unsure, we should assume the unborn have human rights to avoid immense harm. Even if socioeconomic concerns exist, they do not outweigh the moral horror of encouraging a mother to kill her child.

Conclusion

Encouraging a woman to have an abortion and then murder her child is a grave evil, even greater than the act of killing the child itself. The pro-life perspective does not take the side of the child against the mother, as the mother is also harmed by the abortion. However, it is paramount to support brave women who choose to keep their unborn child and to offer assistance and understanding to those who have had an abortion and regret their actions.