abortion. rights-based arguments rights-based pro-life argument g a fetus is a person g a person has...

AbortionAbortion

Rights-based ArgumentsRights-based Arguments

Rights-based Pro-life Argument

Rights-based Pro-life Argument

A fetus is a person A person has a right to life So, a fetus has a right to life It’s wrong to kill something with a right

to life So, it’s wrong to kill a fetus Abortion kills a fetus So, abortion is wrong

A fetus is a person A person has a right to life So, a fetus has a right to life It’s wrong to kill something with a right

to life So, it’s wrong to kill a fetus Abortion kills a fetus So, abortion is wrong

PersonhoodPersonhood

Is a fetus a person?What is a person?‘Person’ is vague and normative:

people have rightsWe need criteria for being a person

Is a fetus a person?What is a person?‘Person’ is vague and normative:

people have rightsWe need criteria for being a person

Criteria for personhoodCriteria for personhood

Biological: genes, appearance, brain activity (Noonan)

Independence (viability)ConsciousnessSelf-consciousnessPhysical separationAutonomy: self-concept, plans for

future, etc. (Warren)

Biological: genes, appearance, brain activity (Noonan)

Independence (viability)ConsciousnessSelf-consciousnessPhysical separationAutonomy: self-concept, plans for

future, etc. (Warren)

Four weeksFour weeks

Genetic pattern established since conception Heart, eyes, nervous system formed

Genetic pattern established since conception Heart, eyes, nervous system formed

Six weeksSix weeks

Arms and legs formed Skeleton complete, reflexes active Brain waves present

Arms and legs formed Skeleton complete, reflexes active Brain waves present

Seven weeksSeven weeks

Brain activity present Appearance complete

Brain activity present Appearance complete

Eight weeksEight weeks

Now officially a fetus All systems in place Just need to develop and increase size

Now officially a fetus All systems in place Just need to develop and increase size

Eight weeksEight weeks

Eleven weeksEleven weeks

Arms and legs move, sucks thumb Inhales and exhales amniotic fluid

Arms and legs move, sucks thumb Inhales and exhales amniotic fluid

Twelve weeksTwelve weeks

Sixteen weeksSixteen weeks

Grasps, swims, kicks, turns somersaults Grasps, swims, kicks, turns somersaults

Eighteen weeksEighteen weeks

Vocal cords work; fetus can cry Vocal cords work; fetus can cry

Twenty weeksTwenty weeks

Twenty-four weeksTwenty-four weeks

After BirthAfter Birth

Criteria for PersonhoodCriteria for Personhood

Conception: genetic makeupFirst trimester: appearance, brain

activity, consciousnessSecond trimesterThird trimester: viabilityBirth: physical separationWell after birth: self-

consciousness, autonomy

Conception: genetic makeupFirst trimester: appearance, brain

activity, consciousnessSecond trimesterThird trimester: viabilityBirth: physical separationWell after birth: self-

consciousness, autonomy

Inadequacy of Later Criteria

Inadequacy of Later Criteria

Autonomy, self-consciousness: develop well after birthSo, babies aren’t peopleBabies have no right to lifeWarren: If it’s wrong to kill them, it’s

because other people care about them (like works of art) (!)

Physical separation, viability:Morally irrelevantWhat about people on ventilators, etc.?

Autonomy, self-consciousness: develop well after birthSo, babies aren’t peopleBabies have no right to lifeWarren: If it’s wrong to kill them, it’s

because other people care about them (like works of art) (!)

Physical separation, viability:Morally irrelevantWhat about people on ventilators, etc.?

Two Pro-life ViewsTwo Pro-life Views

Early criteria succeed, and imply that most or all abortions are wrong

Being a person doesn’t depend on having these characteristics, but on a capacity for them— having the right dispositions

An early fetus is like a comatose patient who will recover

Early criteria succeed, and imply that most or all abortions are wrong

Being a person doesn’t depend on having these characteristics, but on a capacity for them— having the right dispositions

An early fetus is like a comatose patient who will recover

Fetuses have rightsFetuses have rights

A comatose patient has a right to life because of what he/she will be able to do

But fetus (generally) will be able to do those same things

So, fetus has a right to life too

A comatose patient has a right to life because of what he/she will be able to do

But fetus (generally) will be able to do those same things

So, fetus has a right to life too

Fetuses have rightsFetuses have rights

A mother who drinks, takes drugs, etc., while pregnant and risks harming her fetus acts immorally

Someone who intentionally injures a fetus acts immorally (Cf. doctor who tore arm off fetus in botched abortion attempt)

But killing someone is worse than injuring them

A mother who drinks, takes drugs, etc., while pregnant and risks harming her fetus acts immorally

Someone who intentionally injures a fetus acts immorally (Cf. doctor who tore arm off fetus in botched abortion attempt)

But killing someone is worse than injuring them

Killing what has a right to life

Killing what has a right to life

It’s wrong to kill anything with a right to life

A fetus has a right to life <=>Others have a perfect obligation not

to interfere with the fetus’s living <=>

Others have a perfect obligation not to kill the fetus =>

Abortion is wrong— in fact, unjust

It’s wrong to kill anything with a right to life

A fetus has a right to life <=>Others have a perfect obligation not

to interfere with the fetus’s living <=>

Others have a perfect obligation not to kill the fetus =>

Abortion is wrong— in fact, unjust

Can right to life be outweighed?

Can right to life be outweighed?

Punishment: irrelevant Self-defense: protection of mother’s health (1-

3% of abortions) Prospects of life not worth living (severe

defects: <1% of abortions) Greater good (happiness)? But we don’t let

people kill people who might make them unhappy

Privacy? But we don’t let people kill in private

Punishment: irrelevant Self-defense: protection of mother’s health (1-

3% of abortions) Prospects of life not worth living (severe

defects: <1% of abortions) Greater good (happiness)? But we don’t let

people kill people who might make them unhappy

Privacy? But we don’t let people kill in private

Rights-based Choice Arguments

Rights-based Choice Arguments

Roe v. Wade (Justice Blackmun) Mother has a right to privacy concerning

fundamental liberties Whether to bear a child is a fundamental

choice So, mother’s right to privacy include a right to

abortion The state may protect the mother’s health

before viability; the fetus’s life only thereafter

Roe v. Wade (Justice Blackmun) Mother has a right to privacy concerning

fundamental liberties Whether to bear a child is a fundamental

choice So, mother’s right to privacy include a right to

abortion The state may protect the mother’s health

before viability; the fetus’s life only thereafter

Roe v. WadeRoe v. Wade

First trimester: right to privacy; no regulation

Second trimester: may regulate only to protect mother

Third trimester: viability; may regulate to protect the fetus, but mother’s health comes first

Birth: fetus has full rights

First trimester: right to privacy; no regulation

Second trimester: may regulate only to protect mother

Third trimester: viability; may regulate to protect the fetus, but mother’s health comes first

Birth: fetus has full rights

Thomson’s ArgumentThomson’s Argument

Thomson criticizes the premise that it’s wrong to kill anything with a right to life

A fetus has a right to life <=> others shouldn’t kill the fetus unjustly

So, we can conclude that abortion is wrong only by showing that it is unjust killing

Justice is prior; stems from mother’s right to her own body

Thomson criticizes the premise that it’s wrong to kill anything with a right to life

A fetus has a right to life <=> others shouldn’t kill the fetus unjustly

So, we can conclude that abortion is wrong only by showing that it is unjust killing

Justice is prior; stems from mother’s right to her own body

ViolinistViolinist

You may unplug yourself from the violinist, even if doing that kills him

You have not given him a right to use your body

So, unplugging yourself is not unjust killing (analogy: rape, <1%)

Burglars and people seeds: voluntary acts done in knowledge that pregnancy might result still don’t give right to use

You may unplug yourself from the violinist, even if doing that kills him

You have not given him a right to use your body

So, unplugging yourself is not unjust killing (analogy: rape, <1%)

Burglars and people seeds: voluntary acts done in knowledge that pregnancy might result still don’t give right to use

Obligations to othersObligations to others

Maybe the mother is obligated even so (imperfect rather than perfect obligation)

How much must we do for others?Our obligations are minimalBut abortion is wrong only if we

must be good Samaritans toward others

Maybe the mother is obligated even so (imperfect rather than perfect obligation)

How much must we do for others?Our obligations are minimalBut abortion is wrong only if we

must be good Samaritans toward others

Degrees of generosityDegrees of generosity

Splendid Samaritan: risks life to help others in need

Good Samaritan: endures significant cost to help others in need

Minimally Decent Samaritan: does something to help others in need

Splendid Samaritan: risks life to help others in need

Good Samaritan: endures significant cost to help others in need

Minimally Decent Samaritan: does something to help others in need

English’s ArgumentEnglish’s Argument

Self-defense: You may injure someone somewhat more severely than you are threatened to protect yourself

Abortion is justified if the motherFaces death or serious injury from

continuing the pregnancyFaces seriously diminished life prospects

from pregnancy But only in early stages

Self-defense: You may injure someone somewhat more severely than you are threatened to protect yourself

Abortion is justified if the motherFaces death or serious injury from

continuing the pregnancyFaces seriously diminished life prospects

from pregnancy But only in early stages

Kantian Pro-life ArgumentsKantian Pro-life Arguments

Everything has a price or a dignityHuman beings have dignity, not a

priceWhat has a dignity should not be

used merely as a meansAbortion generally uses a fetus for

the mother’s endsAbortion is generally wrong

Everything has a price or a dignityHuman beings have dignity, not a

priceWhat has a dignity should not be

used merely as a meansAbortion generally uses a fetus for

the mother’s endsAbortion is generally wrong

Kantian Pro-life ArgumentsKantian Pro-life Arguments

Possible exceptions: when abortion does not use fetus for mother’s ends, but done for the sake of the fetusProspects of a life not worth living:

Severe birth defects, diseases, etc. (< 1% of abortions)

Self-protection (threat to mother’s health: 1-3% of abortions)

Possible exceptions: when abortion does not use fetus for mother’s ends, but done for the sake of the fetusProspects of a life not worth living:

Severe birth defects, diseases, etc. (< 1% of abortions)

Self-protection (threat to mother’s health: 1-3% of abortions)

Kantian Pro-choice Arguments


Isn’t the fetus also using the mother?

Respect for moral agency requires voluntary, informed consent

Respect for the mother’s agency requires her consent

No one has the right to force her consent

Isn’t the fetus also using the mother?

Respect for moral agency requires voluntary, informed consent

Respect for the mother’s agency requires her consent

No one has the right to force her consent



Roe v. Wade (Justice Douglas)People have a right to autonomy over

development of intellect, interests, tastes, personality

Freedom to choose lifestyle, including marriage, procreation

Childbirth may deprive woman of preferred lifestyle

So, a woman has a right to abortion

Roe v. Wade (Justice Douglas)People have a right to autonomy over

development of intellect, interests, tastes, personality

Freedom to choose lifestyle, including marriage, procreation

Childbirth may deprive woman of preferred lifestyle

So, a woman has a right to abortion

Kantian Pro-life ResponseKantian Pro-life ResponseProblem: what are limits on autonomy?

May a woman kill her children if they interfere with her preferred lifestyle?

Solutions: I may do what I want so long as I don’t hurt (Mill) or use (Kant) others

But abortion harms and almost always uses the fetus

If the fetus has dignity, that’s immoralSo, the argument depends on the fetus’s

status

Problem: what are limits on autonomy? May a woman kill her children if they interfere with her preferred lifestyle?

Solutions: I may do what I want so long as I don’t hurt (Mill) or use (Kant) others

But abortion harms and almost always uses the fetus

If the fetus has dignity, that’s immoralSo, the argument depends on the fetus’s

status

SufferingSuffering

Is a fetus a person? One option (Bentham’s): “Can it suffer?” This suggests a criterion: the fetus

deserves moral consideration only after it gains the ability to feel pleasure and pain (around 7-8 weeks)

Even after that, its pleasures and pains lack complexity— low quality

Is a fetus a person? One option (Bentham’s): “Can it suffer?” This suggests a criterion: the fetus

deserves moral consideration only after it gains the ability to feel pleasure and pain (around 7-8 weeks)

Even after that, its pleasures and pains lack complexity— low quality

VaguenessVagueness

Is a fetus a person?Another option: VaguenessMaybe there is no fact of the matterMaybe ‘person’ is vague; it’s

indeterminate whether fetuses are people in a morally significant sense

We have no choice but to decide which social policy is best

Is a fetus a person?Another option: VaguenessMaybe there is no fact of the matterMaybe ‘person’ is vague; it’s

indeterminate whether fetuses are people in a morally significant sense

We have no choice but to decide which social policy is best

Potential peoplePotential peopleBut it’s not so simpleTo decide which policy is best, we must

do moral calculusBut how do we count the interests of

fetuses?We don’t have to count them as 0 or 1, as

nothing or as a full adult; we could count their interests as something in between

Their pleasures and pains are low in quality

But it’s not so simpleTo decide which policy is best, we must

do moral calculusBut how do we count the interests of

fetuses?We don’t have to count them as 0 or 1, as

nothing or as a full adult; we could count their interests as something in between

Their pleasures and pains are low in quality

Utilitarian Pro-life Arguments


Harms of abortionDeath of the fetus: 1 million last year,

40 million since 1973That’s an abortion every 30 seconds;

25-30% of fetuses die from abortionPain of the fetus (half of all abortions

performed after the fetus can feel pain)

Harms of abortionDeath of the fetus: 1 million last year,

40 million since 1973That’s an abortion every 30 seconds;

25-30% of fetuses die from abortionPain of the fetus (half of all abortions

performed after the fetus can feel pain)



Harms of abortionLoss of future happiness of fetus and all

who would have been affected by him/her

Risk of injury, infertility for womanLoss of respect for life

Increased child abuseIncreased acceptance of euthanasiaDecreased respect for women

Harms of abortionLoss of future happiness of fetus and all

who would have been affected by him/her

Risk of injury, infertility for womanLoss of respect for life

Increased child abuseIncreased acceptance of euthanasiaDecreased respect for women



Abortion is unnecessary— there are less harmful alternativesBirth control: 50% of abortions performed

on women who used no other form of birth control

40% of all women who have abortions have more than one

Adoption: 2 million couples waiting to adopt, but only 50,000 babies put up for adoption each year

Abortion is unnecessary— there are less harmful alternativesBirth control: 50% of abortions performed

on women who used no other form of birth control

40% of all women who have abortions have more than one

Adoption: 2 million couples waiting to adopt, but only 50,000 babies put up for adoption each year

Marquis’s Pro-life Argument

Marquis’s Pro-life Argument

What makes death bad, and murder wrong?

The loss of a human futureA fetus has a human futureAbortion deprives it of that futureSo, abortion is wrong, and for just

the same reason that murder is wrong

What makes death bad, and murder wrong?

The loss of a human futureA fetus has a human futureAbortion deprives it of that futureSo, abortion is wrong, and for just

the same reason that murder is wrong

Utilitarian Pro-choice Arguments


Harms to the motherPhysical harmPsychological harm

Caring for child can be a burdenPhysical and mental healthDistressful life and futureInability to care for child

Harms to the motherPhysical harmPsychological harm

Caring for child can be a burdenPhysical and mental healthDistressful life and futureInability to care for child



Child may sufferFrom being unplanned and unwantedFrom unhappiness of mother and other

family membersFrom material disadvantages

Legal abortion saves lives of women who otherwise would seek illegal abortionsIn 1972, 39 women died from

complications of abortionIn 1977, 21 did, though number of

abortions more than tripled

Child may sufferFrom being unplanned and unwantedFrom unhappiness of mother and other

family membersFrom material disadvantages

Legal abortion saves lives of women who otherwise would seek illegal abortionsIn 1972, 39 women died from

complications of abortionIn 1977, 21 did, though number of

abortions more than tripled

Burkean Pro-life Arguments

Burkean Pro-life Arguments

How do we balance competing claims? Right to life outweighs other rights

We don’t kill sick patients because curing them will be inconvenient, expensive, etc.

Analogies with comatose patients, animals, injury to fetus, premature infants

Experience: consequences of legal abortion have been serious

Legislatures are structured to balance competing interests

How do we balance competing claims? Right to life outweighs other rights

We don’t kill sick patients because curing them will be inconvenient, expensive, etc.

Analogies with comatose patients, animals, injury to fetus, premature infants

Experience: consequences of legal abortion have been serious

Legislatures are structured to balance competing interests

Analogies with neonatesAnalogies with neonates

Burkean Pro-Choice Arguments

Burkean Pro-Choice Arguments

Sometimes abortion is permissible Sometimes not There’s no principled way to distinguish

permissible cases Any law about abortion will be unjust,

outlawing permissible abortions, or allowing impermissible ones, or both

Best to leave decision to those who can strike best compromise in the circumstances— the woman and her doctor

Sometimes abortion is permissible Sometimes not There’s no principled way to distinguish

permissible cases Any law about abortion will be unjust,

outlawing permissible abortions, or allowing impermissible ones, or both

Best to leave decision to those who can strike best compromise in the circumstances— the woman and her doctor

abortion. rights-based arguments rights-based pro-life argument g a fetus is a person g a person has...

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