Research Paper on:
Pro-choice

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
wholesale slaughter of innocent life (Levine, 1993). Those who are favor the right to an abortion, the "pro-choice" people, consider abortion an option that should be available to women, believing  that all women have the right to control their reproductive lives. The following discussion will, first of all, present an argument in favor of abortion as a moral choice, utilizing  the principles of utilitarian ethical theory and the theory of natural law. Then, in conclusion, the opposing position will be briefly examined. First of all, however, in order to establish  a working vocabulary as to what is meant by "natural law" and "utilitarianism," these two terms will be defined. Natural Law From the beginning of civilization, philosophers have considered the  question of what - exactly - constitutes moral action. One of the perspectives that has been advocated since the time of Aristotle has been referred to as "natural law" (Anonymous,  2001, April 16). Advocates of this perspective - who include notable individuals from Thomas Aquinas to Thomas Jefferson - have followed this system, which advocates that there are "ethical guidelines  or rules roots in human nature that specify what people ought to do" and that these rules are discernible through the application of human reason (Anonymous, 2001, April 16).  Utilitarianism Utilitarianism, on the other hand, is an approach to morality that was developed by Jeremy Bentham, and refined by John Stuart Mill. While Bentham did not invent the  principle of utility, he was the first to devise a comprehensive theory of utilitarianism. The basic concept behind this system is that pleasure or happiness is the sole element in  human good, and that the morality of an act should be evaluated as entirely dependent on consequences or results on human well-being.