Law is morality. To be moral as defined according to the dictionary is to be concerned with
the principles of right and wrong behaviour*. Therefore this essay will take one controversial
contemporary issue and look at the philosophy behind it. Currently there is still the struggle
between people who are prochoice and those who are prolife when it comes to the issue of
abortion. Therefore we will look to understand the philosophy behind this debate especially
in the Kenyan context.
To begin with, those who are prochoice argue that women should have full autonomy of their
bodies and can choose on what to do with it especially when it comes to pregnancy and child
bearing*. This is also the same position that is held by liberal feminists as propounded by
Catherine MacKinnon. Those who are prolife believe that according to holy texts life is
precious and cannot be taken away, this reasoning tends to lean in the natural law school of
thought where Thomas Aquinas argues that a human being needs to have an inclination to do
what is right and refrain from that which is wrong.
Secondly, basing my argument on Islamic jurisprudence, Islam forbids abortion however
there are exceptions when it can be permitted*. However in contrast to the Christian schools
of thought, abortion is said to be procured after the foetus is past seven weeks as it is then
considered to have a soul*. The whole argument on abortion stems from the chapter of the
Quran that talk about the sanctity of life. The only time when abortion can be permitted is
when a mother’s life is in danger; this is according to the hadiths of the prophet. This is
because sharia law looks at the lesser evil considering that the mother is the bearer of the
foetus who will provide and take care of it*. Also in some instances sacrificing the mother
may lead to the demise of the foetus.
Thirdly, according to the constitution of Kenya 2010, life begins at inception and the right to
life starts from that point*. The law itself comes from the standpoint that abortion is taking
away of life which is equated to murder and therefore is wrong. Therefore it goes back to the
point that law actually reflect morality.
In conclusion, law generally stems from what is accepted as right or wrong therefore certain
aspects that are taken as evil automatically are seen as crimes in the eyes of the law that in
itself make law a morality subject.
This study source was downloaded by 100000856941565 from CourseHero.com on 11-23-2022 04:43:22 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/34259367/Law-is-morality-correctiondocx/
the principles of right and wrong behaviour*. Therefore this essay will take one controversial
contemporary issue and look at the philosophy behind it. Currently there is still the struggle
between people who are prochoice and those who are prolife when it comes to the issue of
abortion. Therefore we will look to understand the philosophy behind this debate especially
in the Kenyan context.
To begin with, those who are prochoice argue that women should have full autonomy of their
bodies and can choose on what to do with it especially when it comes to pregnancy and child
bearing*. This is also the same position that is held by liberal feminists as propounded by
Catherine MacKinnon. Those who are prolife believe that according to holy texts life is
precious and cannot be taken away, this reasoning tends to lean in the natural law school of
thought where Thomas Aquinas argues that a human being needs to have an inclination to do
what is right and refrain from that which is wrong.
Secondly, basing my argument on Islamic jurisprudence, Islam forbids abortion however
there are exceptions when it can be permitted*. However in contrast to the Christian schools
of thought, abortion is said to be procured after the foetus is past seven weeks as it is then
considered to have a soul*. The whole argument on abortion stems from the chapter of the
Quran that talk about the sanctity of life. The only time when abortion can be permitted is
when a mother’s life is in danger; this is according to the hadiths of the prophet. This is
because sharia law looks at the lesser evil considering that the mother is the bearer of the
foetus who will provide and take care of it*. Also in some instances sacrificing the mother
may lead to the demise of the foetus.
Thirdly, according to the constitution of Kenya 2010, life begins at inception and the right to
life starts from that point*. The law itself comes from the standpoint that abortion is taking
away of life which is equated to murder and therefore is wrong. Therefore it goes back to the
point that law actually reflect morality.
In conclusion, law generally stems from what is accepted as right or wrong therefore certain
aspects that are taken as evil automatically are seen as crimes in the eyes of the law that in
itself make law a morality subject.
This study source was downloaded by 100000856941565 from CourseHero.com on 11-23-2022 04:43:22 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/34259367/Law-is-morality-correctiondocx/
