Course Project Milestone: Annotated Bibliography
Student Name
Chamberlain University College of Nursing
ETHC 445N
Professor Russell Waltz
Due Date
, Personal and/or communal ethical factors: Abortion
The topic abortion is a very controversial debate, and very sensitive to some. Recently abortion
has been a very popular topic regarding whether or not it should be legal. Along with legality
involved in abortions, there are the moral and ethical factors of each individual. When we
discuss personal ethical factors, we tend to see it as everyone has their own beliefs and there is
no right or wrong. Along with everyone's own beliefs, the community, or people surrounding
them play a big role on their decisions and can influence changes. When we are looking at other
factors that influence them, I always refer back to the sole fact we should not judge someone
based off of their beliefs and decisions they decide to make. Everyone has their own opinion on
what they believe is morally correct within their eyes.
Ethical positions using Kantian ethics: Abortion
Kant's categorical Imperative is defined as commands or moral laws all persons must follow,
regardless of their desires or extenuating circumstances (Muscente 2020). Kant’s second
principal formulation of the categorical imperative, which proscribes treating persons as mere
means, applies to human embryos and fetuses (Manninen 2014). What I think is meant by this
statement is that he was trying to prove it would be morally wrong to abort the fetus because he
believed fetuses were worthy of the same level of dignity any other person.
Annotated Bibliography 1
In this article, Abdullah (2021) discuses legal and ethical issues regarding abortion. He states,
“the act of abortion is seen from the classification of evil, that the killing of fetal killing is not in
the category of whole human killing but is still an act of sin and sin” (p.2). From this statement it
is clear that he disagrees with abortion and stands with the fact that it should be illegal for a
woman to have an abortion. On the other hand, he states “the right to abortion is legally justified
if done because of medical reasons or considerations or medical emergencies if done not in
conflict with law and religion” (p.3). With this statement, they believe that abortion is acceptable
and will not be punished by law or religion if it is necessary for the health of the mother or any
other medical complication. Abdullah (2021) discusses the moral aspects of abortion and how
they are all intertwined with each other. “All moral orders have only one thing in common: they
are social norms, those that reflect certain behaviors, directly or indirectly from one human to
another. All moral systems have one thing in common that is, the 'supposed' moral systems are
something and have a normative character” (p.11). With these norms we look at what is
considered “good” and with that we can determine if it is morally correct or not.
Annotated Bibliography 2
In this article, Baird and Mayer (2021) shares their thoughts on how a social contract theorist
perceives abortion. “Normative approaches to business ethics look for defensible principles and
premises for decision-making but finding a “universal” set of principles and premises by which
to shape or judge individual or corporate conduct has been exceedingly difficult” (p.2). Looking
at a social contact theorist we understand that they follow uniformed guidelines and if there are
rules, they abide by them. With legality of abortion a social contact would go by the states laws
Student Name
Chamberlain University College of Nursing
ETHC 445N
Professor Russell Waltz
Due Date
, Personal and/or communal ethical factors: Abortion
The topic abortion is a very controversial debate, and very sensitive to some. Recently abortion
has been a very popular topic regarding whether or not it should be legal. Along with legality
involved in abortions, there are the moral and ethical factors of each individual. When we
discuss personal ethical factors, we tend to see it as everyone has their own beliefs and there is
no right or wrong. Along with everyone's own beliefs, the community, or people surrounding
them play a big role on their decisions and can influence changes. When we are looking at other
factors that influence them, I always refer back to the sole fact we should not judge someone
based off of their beliefs and decisions they decide to make. Everyone has their own opinion on
what they believe is morally correct within their eyes.
Ethical positions using Kantian ethics: Abortion
Kant's categorical Imperative is defined as commands or moral laws all persons must follow,
regardless of their desires or extenuating circumstances (Muscente 2020). Kant’s second
principal formulation of the categorical imperative, which proscribes treating persons as mere
means, applies to human embryos and fetuses (Manninen 2014). What I think is meant by this
statement is that he was trying to prove it would be morally wrong to abort the fetus because he
believed fetuses were worthy of the same level of dignity any other person.
Annotated Bibliography 1
In this article, Abdullah (2021) discuses legal and ethical issues regarding abortion. He states,
“the act of abortion is seen from the classification of evil, that the killing of fetal killing is not in
the category of whole human killing but is still an act of sin and sin” (p.2). From this statement it
is clear that he disagrees with abortion and stands with the fact that it should be illegal for a
woman to have an abortion. On the other hand, he states “the right to abortion is legally justified
if done because of medical reasons or considerations or medical emergencies if done not in
conflict with law and religion” (p.3). With this statement, they believe that abortion is acceptable
and will not be punished by law or religion if it is necessary for the health of the mother or any
other medical complication. Abdullah (2021) discusses the moral aspects of abortion and how
they are all intertwined with each other. “All moral orders have only one thing in common: they
are social norms, those that reflect certain behaviors, directly or indirectly from one human to
another. All moral systems have one thing in common that is, the 'supposed' moral systems are
something and have a normative character” (p.11). With these norms we look at what is
considered “good” and with that we can determine if it is morally correct or not.
Annotated Bibliography 2
In this article, Baird and Mayer (2021) shares their thoughts on how a social contract theorist
perceives abortion. “Normative approaches to business ethics look for defensible principles and
premises for decision-making but finding a “universal” set of principles and premises by which
to shape or judge individual or corporate conduct has been exceedingly difficult” (p.2). Looking
at a social contact theorist we understand that they follow uniformed guidelines and if there are
rules, they abide by them. With legality of abortion a social contact would go by the states laws
