GENE 250 Week 3 Discussion

GENE 250 Week 3 Discussion | regent-university

The Moral Justification of the Parents

The parents are the legal guardian of the mentally disabled pregnant woman. In the issue of abortion to be implemented by the state to the mentally disabled woman, based on the article, U.K. Court Says Mentally Disabled Woman Must Have Abortion, published by The New York Times (Joseph, 2019), the parents were morally justified to defend their pregnant daughter and defy the court's order. The mother of the pregnant woman had volunteered to take care of the baby when it was born, which secured the wellness of the baby. On the other hand, the intervention of the court was based on the recommendation made by the National Health Service in pursuit of the 1967 Abortion Act and the 2005 Mental Capacity Act. The laws that supported the decision of the court were made by man to protect the interest of the state. According to the news, the judge's decision was based on his observation of the risk brought about by the daughter's mental condition. This goes the same with the jurist, who also thinks about the risks and the trauma that the young woman could endure once the baby is delivered. It should be noted that the court and the jurist want to protect the younger woman because she is impaired. This would be a very difficult case, both sides could be seen as moral. However, God considers all life, including that of an unborn child. At this point, the moral obligation to keep the baby alive based on the wishes of the daughter and the role of the mother to assist in raising the baby held a stronger justification than the court's order. 

The example of Jonathan and David defying King Saul because he went against God (Ryken, 2003) is very relevant to this story. Even though God has placed these individuals in the authoritative position, the decision they made went against God’s will. There is no justification for killing this unborn child. According to Annie Gottlieb, the family is the foundation of the state and illustrated how the state could be destroyed by destroying the family (Ryken, 2003). This, therefore, gives the parents the moral obligation to intervene when a baby is subject to abortion based on the decision of the state. There was no moral high ground when one chose to kill a human life for no logical or rational reason. When Martin Luther King delivered his open letter from the Birmingham Jail, he defended breaking the law if that law was unjust (King, 1963). To abort the baby under the state law, in this case, is unjust and immoral.