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Some ethical problems concerning criminal and legal abortion – The author discusses the ethical problems concerning criminal and legal abortion. He distinguishes several groups of pros and cons as they are to be found in writings and in public discussions about abortion, and evaluates them critically. A first group of contrary arguments is based upon non-scientific grounds such as metaphysical speculation, natural law philosophy, or punitive and pseudo-legal considerations. They are rejected by the author as vague and arbitrary abstract principles, because they can be misused as well as used - and actually they are misused - to favour or to prohibit almost any form of human behaviour, and because they condemn abortion without considering the elements, the causes and the effects of the concrete situations and without offering any satisfying solution to these. A second group of contrary arguments is based upon presumed psychological and social side-effects of legalisation of abortion. Using scientific findings, the author demonstrates that these allegedly bad effects are to a great extent illusory and that real difficulties can be met with practical solutions, so that the presumed bad effects can only be considered as contrary arguments against abortion in the case of a small percentage of women in some specific psychological or social situations. The author then rejects a group of pro-arguments, because they are similar to the first group of rejected contrary arguments, because they are equally based upon general and abstract principles of a vague and arbitrary nature. In the last section of his article he puts forward two arguments in favour of legalisation of abortion. The first one consists in arguing that, whatever the motives for abortion may be in the conscience of women who face an undesired pregnancy, the intense desire to get an abortion is in itself a symptom of a conflict and stress situation that disturbs the psychological, moral and social functioning of the pregnant woman in such a way and to such an extent that the continuation of the pregnancy and the birth of a child would become objectively undesirable. The second one starts from the factual and widespread practice of criminal abortion and from the consideration that this practice cannot be significantly reduced by maintaining or strengthening legal and moral prohibitions. Hence, the morally unacceptable circumstances which surround the existing practice of criminal abortion can only be overcome by legalising abortion.
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How to Cite: Van Den Enden, H. (1971) “Is abortus provocatus een ethisch probleem?”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 16(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95876