Summaries 8,9,10

Chapter9

Abortion

Copyright © 2019 W. W. Norton &Company

Background

• Abortion:also called induced abortion; the deliberate termination of a pregnancy by surgical or medical (with drugs) means
• Therapeutic abortion:an abortion performed to protect the life or health of the mother
• Conception:the merging of a sperm cell and an ovum into a single cell; also called fertilization
• Viability:the stage of fetal development at which the fetus is able to survive outside the uterus

Abortion: Moral or Legal?

Two types of questions:

• The moral question: Is abortion right?
• The legal question: What should the law allow?

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• In the first trimester, a woman’s right to an abortion is unrestricted.
• After the first trimester, a state may regulate (but not ban) abortion to protect the mother’s health.
• After the fetus becomes viable, the state may regulate or forbid abortions in the interests of “the potentiality of human life” except when abortion is necessary to preserve the woman’s life or health.

Moral Theories –1

• Act-utilitarianism: An abortion is morally right if it results in the greatest overall happiness, everyone considered. If not, an abortion is wrong.
• Rule-utilitarianism: Generally following a rule, such as “Abortion is not morally permissible except to save the mother’s life,” will maximize happiness. Or, alternatively, the rule could be "Abortion is morally permissible in most cases."

Moral Theories –2

• Kant’s theory (if the fetus is a person): The fetus has rights, and these rights cannot be overridden merely for utility’s sake. In this view, abortion would seem to be rarely justified.
• Kant’s theory (if the fetus is not a person):The fetus—like any other nonperson—can be used as a means to an end, whereas the mother must be treated as an end in herself.

Moral Theories –3

• Traditional natural law theory: The fetus is a person with full moral rights; it is always morally wrong to directly, intentionally kill the innocent.
• Doctrine of double effect: An action that has the unintendedside effect of aborting the fetus may be morally acceptable.

Moral Arguments –1

A conservative argument:

1. The unborn is an innocent person from conception.
2. It is wrong to kill an innocent person.
3. Abortion is the killing of an innocent person.
4. Therefore, abortion is wrong.

To evaluate this argument, we must determine (1) whether the conclusion follows from the premises and (2) whether the premises are true.

Moral Arguments –2

A conservative argument that the unborn is an innocent person from conception:

No unambiguous point of personhood can be located in fetal development, so the most reasonable option is to identify personhood with conception.

Moral Arguments –3

Another conservative argument for personhood at conception:

• At conception, there is a dramatic increase in the probability that a mature human will result.
• This boost in probabilitiescomes from the appearance of complete human genetic code (DNA).
• Therefore, the most plausible view is that personhood begins at conception.

Moral Arguments –4

Another conservative argument:

Although the fetus may not be a person, it has the potentialto become a person and is therefore entitled to the same rights as full-fledged persons.

Moral Arguments –5

A rejection of the “potential” argument:

• “This argument is implausible, since in no other case do we treat the potentialto achieve some status entailing certain rights as itself entailing those same rights.”
• For example:“Every child born in the United States is a potentialvoter, but no one under the age of 18 has the right to vote in that country.”

Moral Arguments –6

A common liberal argument:

1. The unborn is not a person until birth (and thus does not have a right to life).
2. It is wrong to kill an innocent person.
3. Abortion before birth would not be the killing of an innocent person.
4. If abortion before birth is not the killing of an innocent person, it is permissible.
5. Therefore, abortion before birth is permissible.

Moral Arguments –7

The liberal and conservative arguments accept the same premise:

“It is wrong to kill an innocent person.”

Thus, the liberal and the conservative agree on the immorality of murder.

Moral Arguments –8

Mary Anne Warren’s personhood argument:

1. There are five characteristics that are most important to our idea of personhood:
   1. consciousness
   2. the ability to reason
   3. self-motivated activity
   4. the capacity to communicate
   5. the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness
2. Any being that has none of these traits is unquestionably not a person.
3. Since a fetus lacks all these traits, we have to conclude that it is not a person.

Moral Arguments –9

The conservative’s reply to Warren:

If Warren’s view of personhood is correct, then a fetus is not a person—but neither is a newborn.

It is doubtful that a newborn—or perhaps even an older baby—can meet Warren’s criteria for personhood.

Moral Arguments –10

Another conservative argument against the liberal position:

• The liberal implies that the unborn is a person at birth but not a person even an hourbefore birth(abortion is immoral after birth but permissible an hour before).
• But the physiological and psychological differences between the born and unborn are virtually nil.
• Thus, the liberal’s distinction seems arbitrary.

Moral Arguments –11

A moderate approach:

The fetus becomes a person (and acquires full rights) some time after conception and before birth—for example, at viability, quickening, orsentience.

Moral Arguments –12

Judith Jarvis Thomson’s moderate approach:

Even if we grant that the fetus is a person with full moral rights, abortion still may be permissible in certain cases—more cases than the conservative would permit and fewer than the liberal would permit.

Moral Arguments –13

Thomson’s argument:

1. Whether or not the unborn has a right to life, it does not have a right to sustain its life by using the mother’s body against her will.
2. The mother has a right to defend herself against the unborn’suse of her body against her will (a right to have an abortion).
3. The unborn uses the mother’s body against her will when the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest, or defective contraception.
4. Therefore, abortion is permissible in cases of rape, incest, or defective contraception.

Credits

This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 9

Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues

Fifth Edition (2019) by Lewis Vaughn.