Essay

Time Allotment: Entire Class Period

Required Material: Blue Book, with nothing written on it (not even your name)

Your task is to write an essay in which you answer the following question: When, if at all, is abortion morally permissible?

To answer this question, you must support an argument supported by one of the theorists we have read (Thomson, Warren, Marquis, Hursthouse), and you must argue that an argument supported by one of the other theorists fails. Your reader is someone intelligent and charitable, but knows nothing about the material we have been studying, and you will be graded on how clearly, thoroughly, and accurately you explain these arguments and the reasons to support or reject these arguments.

This exam is open-note and open-text. It is expected that you will enter the exam having prepared beforehand.

Your essay must contain thorough explanations of:

--The argument you show fails

--Why this argument fails (ie, an objection to the argument)

--The argument you support

--An objection to this argument, along with a successful response

Your discussion of each argument must include thorough explanations of:

--The premises and the conclusion, including any key definitions, assumptions, and the presupposed normative ethical theory (deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics)

--An example of a morally permissible abortion (or an explanation why there is no such thing), given this argument’s line of reasoning

--An example of a morally impermissible abortion  (or an explanation why there is no such thing), given this line of reasoning

one page 

single spaced

700 words