Abortion Observation by Pope John Paul Ii
Observation Author Pope John Paul II argues in his essay “Unspeakable Crime of Abortion,” that women who seek to have an abortion are committing murder; no matter how earlier the woman is in the pregnancy. He states, “Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth.” He believes that many Americans try to justify the abortion by simply calling it something it is not. For example, the phrase “interruption of pregnancy” has been as a synonym for abortion. Pope John Paul considers such “linguistic phenomenon” a ploy to ease one conscience when deciding to have an abortion. Abortion is murder, and there is no other way to classify it. The author considers that at the very moment of conception, a human life has formed. If this life is ended, for any reason at the direction of another human being, it is wrongful killing of an “innocent… [and]…weak…unborn child…” which could never be justified. Pope John Paul II does not relieve anyone’s responsibility either. All who participate, encourage, and allow the facilitation of abortions are at fault and could be held accountable for murder. Although he uses somewhat of a slippery slope argument here, he makes good use of ethical theories throughout the paper to strengthen his arguments. Pope John Paul II makes use of all three Ethical Theories; Virtue, Duty, and Consequential Theory. The Virtue theory considers natural law in arguing a position. If an argument or position violates the natural law of man, for example committing murder, is wrong. The Author makes this exact argument. He states that murder is wrong, therefore, we should not murder. Abortion is murder, so therefore it is against natural law and is wrong. He also uses the Duty Theory. The Duty Argument considers social responsibility and how people are held accountable for their actions. Pope John