considered immoral, according to deontological ethical theory, for a woman to have an abortion. Moreover, Kant was very influenced by the nature and it’s laws. He was arguing that everything in nature operates in conformity with certain rules and standards. More specifically, Kantian personal moral law -- “categorical imperative” says the following: “Act as if the maxim [that is the subjective governing principle] of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature” (p. 31 Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals). Now, could you imagine what it would be like, if abortion had became ‘a universal law of nature?’ The existence of human species would come to an end. Therefore, I think that deontologists, based on the facts I’ve just given, would consider abortion in general as an immoral thing to do. Nevertheless, I think, that in two cases I have just presented (rape and danger impinged on a woman), a Kantian theorist might say that a woman was raped and stripped out of her autonomy. In order to preserve her autonomy at least for a little bit, she should be able to make a choice.In these kinds of situations, I think it is better to simply remain a person, who is not committed to any theories and try to slide in to the other person’s shoes, try to see how she feels. According to ethical relativism, which views that what is right or wrong and good or bad is not absolute but variable and relative, depending on the person, circumstances, or social situation, each society and culture would examine abortion differently, according to their rules and principles. By the way, much of the opposition to abortion throughout the time in history had come from religion. For sexual intercourse was procreation the making of a new life. Thus, anything that interfered with fertility was immoral. This viewpoint changed during the first half of the 20th century, when many r...
