ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the principal moral arguments for and against abortion, together with the additional factors which influence the legal response to what many regard as an ethical impasse. It analyses the implications for the parties most directly affected by the practice. The chapter addresses the legal position in relation to other forms of avoidable pre-natal harm. Traditionally, the debate as to the rights and wrongs of abortion has been couched in terms of the 'right to life' of the foetus versus the pregnant woman's 'right to choose' whether or not to bear a child. Most opposition to abortion relies on the premise that the foetus is a human being, a person, from the moment of conception. Given the foreseeable impact of certain pre-natal acts or omissions on the welfare of offspring, one cannot reasonably argue that women and men have no pre-natal obligation to avoid harm to children they choose to bring into the world.
