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Abortion

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Abortion
ABORTION

Introduction

• There are three basic positions on abortion and they all center on the question of the human status of the unborn.

• There are three ways of looking at the status of the unborn; fully human, potentially human and subhuman.

• Those who believe the unborn are subhuman favor abortion on demand.

• Those who believe the unborn are fully human are against abortion.

• Those who argue the unborn are potentially human favor abortion in specified circumstances.

• In the ethics of abortion, the status of the unborn is of ultimate importance. If the unborn are truly human, then the prohibition against taking human life applies to them as well. On the other hand, if the unborn are appendages or extensions of their mothers’ bodies, then abortion is no more serious than an appendectomy.

• Another important issue is the relationship between the right to life and the right to privacy. If human life takes precedence over personal privacy, then aborting a human fetus on the basis of the right to privacy is unjustified. If, on the other hand, the mother’s right to privacy takes priority over the baby’s right to life, then abortion is justified

Three Views of Abortion

|Status of the unborn |Fully human |Potentially human |Subhuman |
|Abortion |Never |Sometimes |Anytime |
|Basis |Sanctity of life |Emergence of life |Quality of life |
|Mother’s rights |Life over privacy |Combination of rights |Privacy over life |

Abortion at anytime: The belief that the fetus is subhuman

• Emphasis is on the woman’s right to privacy over the state’s interest in regulating abortions.

• The pro-abortionist’s
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