CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Our society is often divided between good and evil, right and wrong. However, the distinction between the two is not always that self-evident or can be taken light-heartedly. The issue I will address here qualifies as one of the most polarizing issues, whether abortion should be legally permissible and if so, under what conditions.
Posing this question we see people covering the whole strictness spectrum of either abortion-supporting or abortion-condemning groups, advocating their stances, based on arguments that they find concrete enough to win the “contest” and prevail against their adversaries. What are the questions we should ask to judge the legality of abortion? In my thesis I will discuss biology and embryology arguments, as well as arguments about the moral status of the fetus, ethics and the moral framework of abortion. Not limited to that I will address what are the legal rights of the mother and the fetus respectively should be. I will briefly refer to the Law but I will approach the legality of abortion through philosophical argumentation and the role of the state. Through the literature and my personal argumentation I will show why abortion should be legally impermissible with the exception of situations where the life of the mother is at stake both in physical and mental sense, when the burden of the pregnancy is humongous evolution or where severe fetal deformities will lead to a painful and devastating life of the fetus assuming it will be even born in the first place. Other exceptions apply for the situations of rape and incest and generally situations of coercion; both physical and mental.
","abstract_html":"<p>CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION</p> <p>Our society is often divided between good and evil, right and wrong. However, the distinction between the two is not always that self-evident or can be taken light-heartedly. The issue I will address here qualifies as one of the most polarizing issues, whether abortion should be legally permissible and if so, under what conditions.</p> <p>Posing this question we see people covering the whole strictness spectrum of either abortion-supporting or abortion-condemning groups, advocating their stances, based on arguments that they find concrete enough to win the “contest” and prevail against their adversaries. What are the questions we should ask to judge the legality of abortion? In my thesis I will discuss biology and embryology arguments, as well as arguments about the moral status of the fetus, ethics and the moral framework of abortion. Not limited to that I will address what are the legal rights of the mother and the fetus respectively should be. I will briefly refer to the Law but I will approach the legality of abortion through philosophical argumentation and the role of the state. Through the literature and my personal argumentation I will show why abortion should be legally impermissible with the exception of situations where the life of the mother is at stake both in physical and mental sense, when the burden of the pregnancy is humongous evolution or where severe fetal deformities will lead to a painful and devastating life of the fetus assuming it will be even born in the first place. Other exceptions apply for the situations of rape and incest and generally situations of coercion; both physical and mental.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Apostolaki, Eleni"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"thesis","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":"Department of Political Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Alex Tuckness"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01","date_published":"2016-01-01","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:37:16Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-5284"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-5284","href":"https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-5284","code":true}]},{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15656/"],"render_values":[{"text":"archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15656/","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/29839","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Alex Tuckness"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Department of Political Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Apostolaki, Eleni"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-08-12T02:44:07.000"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-06-30T03:05:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-30T03:05:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-01-01"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15656/"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-5284"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/29839"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Our society is often divided between good and evil, right and wrong. However, the distinction between the two is not always that self-evident or can be taken light-heartedly. The issue I will address here qualifies as one of the most polarizing issues, whether abortion should be legally permissible and if so, under what conditions.
Posing this question we see people covering the whole strictness spectrum of either abortion-supporting or abortion-condemning groups, advocating their stances, based on arguments that they find concrete enough to win the “contest” and prevail against their adversaries. What are the questions we should ask to judge the legality of abortion? In my thesis I will discuss biology and embryology arguments, as well as arguments about the moral status of the fetus, ethics and the moral framework of abortion. Not limited to that I will address what are the legal rights of the mother and the fetus respectively should be. I will briefly refer to the Law but I will approach the legality of abortion through philosophical argumentation and the role of the state. Through the literature and my personal argumentation I will show why abortion should be legally impermissible with the exception of situations where the life of the mother is at stake both in physical and mental sense, when the burden of the pregnancy is humongous evolution or where severe fetal deformities will lead to a painful and devastating life of the fetus assuming it will be even born in the first place. Other exceptions apply for the situations of rape and incest and generally situations of coercion; both physical and mental.
"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Under what conditions, if any, should be abortion legally permissible"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Alex Tuckness"],"dc:contributor.department":["Department of Political Science"],"dc:creator":["Apostolaki, Eleni"],"dc:date":["2018-08-12T02:44:07.000"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-06-30T03:05:30Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-06-30T03:05:30Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-01-01"],"dc:description.abstract":["CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Our society is often divided between good and evil, right and wrong. However, the distinction between the two is not always that self-evident or can be taken light-heartedly. The issue I will address here qualifies as one of the most polarizing issues, whether abortion should be legally permissible and if so, under what conditions.
Posing this question we see people covering the whole strictness spectrum of either abortion-supporting or abortion-condemning groups, advocating their stances, based on arguments that they find concrete enough to win the “contest” and prevail against their adversaries. What are the questions we should ask to judge the legality of abortion? In my thesis I will discuss biology and embryology arguments, as well as arguments about the moral status of the fetus, ethics and the moral framework of abortion. Not limited to that I will address what are the legal rights of the mother and the fetus respectively should be. I will briefly refer to the Law but I will approach the legality of abortion through philosophical argumentation and the role of the state. Through the literature and my personal argumentation I will show why abortion should be legally impermissible with the exception of situations where the life of the mother is at stake both in physical and mental sense, when the burden of the pregnancy is humongous evolution or where severe fetal deformities will lead to a painful and devastating life of the fetus assuming it will be even born in the first place. Other exceptions apply for the situations of rape and incest and generally situations of coercion; both physical and mental.
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