23. ETHICAL DEBATES ON ABORTION

Question 1

1. What are some circumstances that affect the Moral Status of Abortion?

Answer 1

1. Pregnancy as a result of Rape
2. Prenatal screenings
   - these show the high risks of severe learning
   disabilities
3. The woman is depressed
   
   • she feels that she is unable to cope with motherhood
4. The woman will be a single mother
   
   • she will be poor
5. The woman is only 16 years old

Question 2

2. What 3 principles do we consider when we look at Abortion?

Answer 2

1. Patient Autonomy
2. Beneficence
3. Non-Maleficence

Question 3

3. What is meant by “Patient Autonomy” with regards to Abortion?

Answer 3

• the patients should have the right to have an abortion
  if they want one

Question 4

4. What is meant by “Beneficence” with regards to Abortion?

Answer 4

• it is important to have the best interests of the mother
  at the centre of health care
• this looks at the psychological and physical well being
  of the mother

THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THE CASE OF:
- foetuses with severe deformities
- these present issues with the quality of life of the
foetus

Question 5

5. What is meant by “Non-Maleficence” with regards to Abortion?

Answer 5

• it is important to prevent any harm
• this looks at the harm to both the mother and the
  foetus
• we need to consider the sanctity of life

Question 6

6. What is the main argument of Abortion?

Answer 6

• two people agree that killing is wrong
• but they do disagree over what counts as a person

Question 7

7. What is the difference between a Human and a person?

Answer 7

• a “human” is strictly a biological term
• a “person” is a term that deserves moral consideration

Question 8

8. With regards to philosophers, how do they see the concept of a person?

Answer 8

• a person does not equal human

HUMAN IS A BIOLOGICAL TERM:
- you are human if you have human DNA

PERSON IS A MORAL TERM:
- this refers to beings who are part of our moral
community
- this term deserves more consideration

Question 9

9. What factors do we look at when we call someone a “person”?

Answer 9

WE LOOK AT THEIR:
- individuality
- identity
- personal identity
- personality
- selfhood
- individuation

Question 10

10. What are 4 difference ways of thinking about Personhood?

Answer 10

1. Genetic Criterion
2. Consciousness
3. Cognitive Criteria
4. Sentience and Suffering

Question 11

11. What is meant by “Genetic Criterion” in terms of personhood?

Answer 11

YOU ARE A PERSON IF:
- you have human DNA
- you exist
- you are now vital

NB:
- this term was coined by Noonan

Question 12

12. What is meant by “Consciousness” in terms of personhood?

Answer 12

YOU ARE A PERSON IF:
- you are a thinking intelligent being
- you can reason
- you can reflect
- this makes you conscious

THIS MEANS THAT:
- not every human being is a person
- only those who have consciousness

NB:
- this term was coined by John Locke

Question 13

13. What is meant by “Cognitive Criteria” in terms of personhood?

Answer 13

YOU ARE A PERSON IF:
- you are have intellectual capacity
- you are conscious
- you can reason
- you can accomplish self motivated activity
- you are self aware
- you have the capacity to communicate

NB:
- this term was coined by Warren

Question 14

14. What is meant by “Sentience and Suffering” in terms of personhood?

Answer 14

ABORTION IS WRONG:
- it causes unnecessary pain to something that can feel

HOWEVER:
- if the organism cannot feel pain
- abortion can do no harm

THE KEY TO THIS THEORY:
- is sentience
- this is the ability to feel pleasure and pain
- it looks at the being’s capacity to suffer

NB:
- this term was coined by Peter Singer

Question 15

15. What is the Social Criterion for Personhood?

Answer 15

YOU ARE A PERSON:
- whenever society recognises you as a person
- or when someone cares about you
- this makes you matter morally

Question 16

16. When looking at Personhood using Social Criterion, what are the defining characteristics?

Answer 16

1. Relationships
2. Emotions
3. Inter-personal interactions

Question 17

17. What is “Personhood” when we look at Faith-based and religious teachings?

Answer 17

YOU ARE A PERSON:
- if you are a human being
- if you have a body
- if you have a soul
- if you are positioned in cosmological order

Question 18

18. What is “Personhood” when we look at Cultural Orders?

Answer 18

YOU ARE A PERSON:
- if you are considered to be fully functional
- if you are an accepted member of a society

EXAMPLE:
- cultures have excluded children, women and disabled
human beings from the title of “people” at specific
points in history

Question 19

19. What is “Personhood” when we look at the Gradient Theory?

Answer 19

• this theory does not look at this topic in black and
  white
• there is a gradient of personhood

PERSONHOOD COMES IN DEGREES:
- in the process of development
- from conception through pregnancy
- up until birth

Question 20

20. How do we assign moral values when we use the Gradient Theory of Personhood?

Answer 20

• the moral value of a zygote is less than that of an
  embryo
• this is less than that of a newborn baby

THE MOTHER:
- has a higher degree of personhood than the foetus

Question 21

21. List several ways of establishing the importance of an Embryo, and their counter arguments.

Answer 21

1. AN EMBRYO IS MORALLY VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS A
   HUMAN BEING
   - would this be seen the same as killing a child?
2. AN EMBRYO IS MORALLY VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS A
   POTENTIAL HUMAN BEING
   - is contraception pre meditative murder?
3. AN EMBRYO IS MORALLY VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS A
   PERSON
   
   • this looks at the stages of development and the
     characteristics of a person
4. AN EMBRYO IS MORALLY VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS
   VALUED BY OTHERS
   - it is okay to kill it if no one cares for it
5. AN EMBRYO IS MORALLY VALUABLE AS ITS VALUE
   INCREASES AS IT DEVELOPS
   
   • this looks at the stage of development