THE MORAL MAZE: To You, When Is Abortion JUSTIFED?

GhanaCelebrities.Com’s  Moral Maze column is back and today, I want us to talk about abortion—how we perceive it and when we can sort of justify it…

Abortion is defined as “the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability”.

Though certain legislations in several countries like the UK have legalized abortion, I think the grounds for justification go beyond law—it is rather about our perception and moral standing.

I hate to confess that, I feel abortion is fully justified.

And my reason is, until the baby is born, it remains part of the mother who has sole autonomy over her body including the unborn baby. In this regard, the mother should be able to decide on what she wants to do with her body and this includes the removal of a body part—the festus.

I also believe abortion is justified on health grounds—when uninterrupted keeping of the baby will put the mother’s health at risk, termination should be allowed and justified. Even if the baby will be more of a burden to itself as opposed to living healthy to enjoy life, I think termination should be justified…

My grounds of justification stem from my moral standing as well as health implications. I’ve not invoked any legal or religious elements here…

However, if you think your justification or non-justification of abortion rests on these elements, be free to share…

The question is; to you, when is abortion justified?