by James Lynne

Created on: January 25, 2009

Life is precious. On that we can all agree. However, the issue of taking life by means of abortion raises moral concerns that are complicated and difficult to address. Pro-lifers would have us believe that it is as simple as "abortion is wrong." Proponents of pro-choice would have us accept that it is each woman's right to decide. As it is with most values conflicts, the issue of abortion is not about "right versus wrong." It is about "right versus right" and how to decide the greater right action.

Before abortion can be labeled a moral concern, we have to define what "moral" means. Morals are generally related to religious values, concepts of right and wrong associated with belief in God, God's laws and Gods judgment. The word moral has a different meaning to people who do not profess belief in God than it does to believers. Each religion also has a different set of values based on its unique interpretation of religious laws. Also, non-theist governments have moral/ethical obligations that often bring the religious beliefs and traditions of their citizens into conflict with sectarian values and beliefs. Establishing a uniform moral code on the issue of abortion is not just complicated. It is virtually impossible because of the variables associated with the meaning of moral. Perhaps a better approach would be to consider it in light of "ethical" issues rather than "moral" issues.

At the core of the debate is the question of when a life becomes a "soul." Most religions teach that it is wrong to take human life because each life possesses an eternal soul, but no one has been able here-to-fore to establish when a mass of reproductive cells becomes a life, let alone a soul. Some would say at the moment of conception. Others claim that it is not so until the infant is able to survive outside its mother's body. Medical science, however, has intervened to the point of artificially replicating the environment of the mother's body, allowing for greater infant survival rates in premature births. Both arguments are valid and both arguments are further clouded by contingent issues. What is a soul and when does it enter the cells that eventually become a human? If we are going to claim that it is wrong to take the life of a developing soul, we first need to determine what a soul is, if it is, and when it enters a developing human. To date all we have on this issue is the conflicting opinions of religion.

Congruent with the moral concern over abortion is the issue of what to

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