Abortion

Abortion: The ending of a pregnancy.
Spontaneous Abortion: Commonly known as miscarriage.
Therapeutic Abortion: Conducted to preserve the life or health of the mother; generally considered morally permissible by most.
Induced Abortion: The focus of moral debates.
- Reasons for Induced Abortion:
  - 74%—Having a baby would change the mother’s life.
  - 73%—Cannot afford to have a baby.
  - 48%—Do not want to be a single mom.
  - 1%—Victim of rape.
  - <0.5%—Pregnant due to incest.

Abortions were prevalent in the ancient world with no direct prohibitions in biblical texts.
Judaism: Views the fetus as having potential value.
Christianity: Argues that life begins at conception but cannot be considered 'ensouled' until after conception.
Quickening: Recognized as the first detection of fetal movement by the mother.
Viability: Defined as the fetus's ability to survive outside the uterus (~23 to 24 weeks).
Up to the 1950s: The medicalhas been community generally supported restrictions on abortion; a more liberal stance is observed in recent times.

Conservative: Abortion is never morally acceptable.
Moderate: Abortion may be justified in certain cases.
Liberal: Abortion is acceptable whenever the woman desires.
Common ground among views: Agreement that murder is immoral; disagreement over the moral status of a fetus and its personhood.

Argument Structure:
- P1) Killing an innocent human being is wrong.
- P2) The unborn is an innocent human being.
- Therefore, killing the unborn is wrong.
Issues with Arguments:
- Equivocation on terms like ‘human being’ versus ‘person’.
Modified Argument:
- P1) Killing an innocent person is wrong.
- P2) The unborn is an innocent person.
- Conclusion: Killing the unborn is wrong.
Key question: When does personhood begin?

Development from nonperson to person is seen as a continuum with no clear demarcation.
Any drawn line appears arbitrary, leading to debates in personhood definitions.
Is-ought Distinction: Biological facts do not straightforwardly lead to moral conclusions.
- Conservatives argue: To avoid arbitrariness, declare life begins at conception.

Liberals and Moderates: Assert zygotes do not yet fulfill criteria for being considered human beings or persons.
Conservative View: Zygote is a potential human being which would develop into a person with time.
- Challenges arise in defining rights concerning sperm and eggs, and ethical implications arise regarding their status.

Mary Anne Warren's Definition: Outlines 5 key attributes of personhood:
1. Consciousness and capacity to feel pain.
2. Reasoning ability.
3. Self-motivated activity.
4. Capacity for communication.
5. Presence of self-concepts and self-awareness.
Warren’s Conclusion: Unborn do not embody essential traits, thus are not persons.

The standards for personhood may be overly stringent.
- Cognitively impaired individuals and infants may not meet these criteria.
- Questions arise about the moral persistence of life shortly before and after birth.
Warren's Rebuttal: There exists a societal consensus against killing infants regardless of criteria.

Thomson views personhood arguments as lacking foundation but posits the unborn is a person.
Rights to Life vs. Rights to the Use of Body: The unborn's right to life does not necessitate entitlement to a woman's body.
Violinist Thought Experiment: Analogous to abortion debates on bodily autonomy and defenses against unjust killing.
Contextual Examples: Abortion is moral in cases of sexual assault or failed contraception.

Denying the unborn access to a woman’s body may appear vicious but isn't a direct rights violation.
Distinction between Good Samaritan and Minimally Decent Samaritan reflects varying moral obligations.

Abortion viewed as a significant decision, deserving of respect for the potential of human life.
Justification for abortion is contingent upon more substantial reasons compared to contraception.

Critique of traditional discussions centered on masculine views of freedom.
Emphasis on the pregnant woman's position and how pregnancy profoundly affects women's lives.
The unborn's moral status is relational rather than absolute, emphasizing the connection to the mother.

Avoids personhood discussions, focusing on why killing is inherently wrong.
Proposes that it is wrongful to deprive an individual (like the unborn) of a valuable future.
Claims that abortion's justification hinges on whether the unborn possesses hope for a future.

Challenges exist in defining personhood satisfactorily.
Acknowledges the gradual development of the unborn towards personhood traits over time.
Differentiates between early and later stages of fetal development concerning moral permissibility of abortion.