Is it morally permissible to abort a living fetus?Melinda becomes part of a space exploration team. She and twenty others embark on a journey to explore the planet Xenia. Upon arriving on the foreign planet, the space exploration team is attacked by violent aliens with large teeth and tentacles. Melinda and only three of her companions make it safely back to the escape pod. Shortly after their escape from the savage planet, Melinda is revealed to have been impregnated by one of the aliens. The team must decide whether it is morally permissible to abort the fetus. Both a utilitarian (act and rule) point of view and a Kantian deontological point of view must be analyzed to determine the outcome of this unborn fetus. From a utilitarian point of view, the amount of pain and happiness decides whether the act is morally permissible. In reference to the pain and happiness of the fetus, a utilitarian act would act in favor of abortion to avoid the pain and control that would accompany the life of a half-human, half-alien fetus. In accordance with the utilitarian act, even a utilitarian rule, when acting on behalf of the fetus, would vote in favor of abortion. This is because in this particular circumstance, the happiness of the group would be maximized by avoiding the unpredictable and risky outcome of giving birth to a half-human, half-alien child. The views remain consistent when considering the happiness of the mother and the group. In this case, both act and rule utilitarians would be in favor of abortion for mostly the same reasons as above; the amount of pain felt by the mother would be diminished by having to give up her life to care for a child who will inevitably be scrutinized and teased and... middle of paper... that it is okay to abort the unwanted child is morally dishonorable. Both a law and rule utilitarian would abort the child, while a Kantian deontologist would argue in favor of maintaining the unborn fetus, so the final question is: which argument is the preferred theory in the case of the half-human half-alien child? Based on the number of uncertainties in the Act and Rule Utilitarian theory, the Kantian deontologist's view is the preferred theory in this case. It is not known at this point in the process the total happiness or pain that this child and the mother will endure during the life of the unborn fetus. All that can be considered is the mother's duty to care for her child and to regard the child as an end in itself and not as a means to an end. It is clear that keeping the unborn fetus is the morally sound plan of action in relation to this delicate situation.