Abortion

Question 1

Why is the status of the fetus considered peripheral to the abortion debate?

Answer 1

The status of the fetus is considered peripheral because regardless of whether a fetus is a human being or has rights, women continue to have abortions even if they believe it is murder.

Question 2

What is the fundamental approach taken to the abortion issue in this paper?

Answer 2

The fundamental approach taken is the free exercise of one’s moral conscience is a fundamental right in our society.

Question 3

Do abortion advocates acknowledge the fetus is human? What distinction do they make?

Answer 3

Abortion advocates do acknowledge the fetus is human. The distinction that is made is that a fetus is a distinct living entity (a debatable point though, because of fetal dependence on a woman’s body).

Question 4

What is called the most fundamental difference between a fetus and a born human being?

Answer 4

The most fundamental difference between a fetus and a born human being is that a fetus is totally dependent on a woman’s body to survive.

Question 5

List 2 arguments given against the pro-life argument that the fetus has a “right to life”.

Answer 5

2 arguments against the pro-life argument that the fetus has a “right to life” include exceptions for rape, incest, or a threat to the woman’s life and the fact that even if a fetus were a human being with a right to life, this right doesn’t automatically overrule a woman’s right to choose.

Question 6

What rights of women are proposed here that conflict with the rights of the unborn?

Answer 6

Rights of women that are proposed that conflict with the rights of the unborn the idea that a grown woman’s value and status can be equated with or overridden by a cluster of undifferentiated cells the size of the period.

Question 7

7. What problems are raised with giving legal rights to fetuses?

Answer 7

Problems that are raised with giving legal rights to fetuses include a direct call for cruelty of women by stripping them of their constitutional rights and personhood.

Question 8

What issue is raised with respect to the use of pictures in pro-life presentations?

Answer 8

The issue that is raised with respect to the use of pictures in pro-life presentations is that they look far less human than later ones (when they do, they usually enlarge them to make the embryo or fetus look the same size as a baby).

Question 9

**What do abortion supporters and anti-abortion writers call themselves? What is significant about how these names relate to the issues surrounding the abortion debate.

Answer 9

Abortion supporters: Pro-Choice (all about the mother’s choice, her autonomy, decision and what to do with her body.)

Anti-Abortion: Pro-life (The primary emphasis is that the baby has a right to live.)

Question 10

What limitation is there to “freedom of choice” and “right to privacy”

Answer 10

You cannot claim “freedom of choice” if it harms another person. You cannot say your going to cause harm in the privacy of your home because protective services will step in. The privacy claim does not matter if you are harming other people.

Question 11

Do all pro-life authors approve of using pictures of fetal development in making their case? Why or why not?

Answer 11

No. The blindsiding of people with these kinds of pictures is unfair and can be a visual form of assault. It is also not appropriate for certain age groups.

Question 12

List 5 of the 7 “decisive moments” when personhood might begin.

Answer 12

• Conception
• Heart beat
• When mother feels the child
• Birth
• Brain function start

Question 13

List at least 3 of Warren’s 5 criteria for personhood.

Answer 13

• We are each a human, physical organism.
• Human Physical organisms come to be at conception
• You and I are intrinsically valuable (that makes us subjects of rights).

Question 14

12. What is the difference between operational (functionalistic) and substantive definitions of personhood? What are two problems with operational definitions?

Answer 14

An operational definition defines a thing in terms of observable traits like a checklist (Ex: If you can perform these functions, your a person). Problems with the operational definition is who decides what’s on the list to define a thing and the fact that just because someone can’t do something doesn’t make them not human.
A Substantive definition is not about what you do but what you are (Ex: You can only do those things but because your a person. The fact your a person allows you to do those things.)

Question 15

Tell 2 connections that Scripture makes between the unborn and persons.

Answer 15

• The same language is used for the unborn and for after the born. (Christmas scene where Elizabeth visits Mary).
• The personal pronouns used for the unborn (“my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place”) (“You knit me together in my mother’s womb.) These pronouns suggest sameness rather than it becomes a person later on.
• Sometimes God speaks of calling someone before they are born. God told Jeremiah that be called him to be a prophet before he was born.

Question 16

Be able to state the invalid violinist argument and some reasons why it may not be a good analogy to abortion.

Answer 16

The violinist argument states awakening next to a famous violinist that has a fatal kidney ailment and only you have the right blood type to help. To unplug him would kill him. The question is since all persons have a right to life, are you morally obligated to spend the next nine months keeping the famous violinist. The author’s answer is no. He explains that even if the fetus has a right to life, the mother’s right to control her own body outweighs the right of the child.
It is a bad analogy because the violinist is a stagner where fetuses are not and the violinist’s need for the woman’s body is not something she is responsible for.

Question 17

Be able to discuss whether the legal status of abortion should be an “all-or-nothing” proposition.

Answer 17

The legal status of abortion should be an all or nothing. Either women can get an abortion on demand for any and every reason or there might as well be no right to any abortion.

Question 18

What arguments are given against allowing abortion in cases of rape and incest?

Answer 18

• It is never right to do evil to achieve good.

- It is never right to commit murder to alleviate suffering.

Question 19

In what cases do the Feinbergs say that there might be a case for abortion?

Answer 19

Abortion to save a mother’s life

Question 20

*****How does Genesis 9:6 apply to the personhood argument and the abortion debate?

Answer 20

Genesis 9:6 forbids murder because your not supposed to kill what’s in the image of God.

Question 21

*****The story “Daddy, can I kill this?” points out that there is only 1 real issue in the abortion debate. What issue is that? Show how it can be applied against the pro-choice argument.

Answer 21

The one real issue in the abortion debate is whether the unborn is a human being or not. This can be applied against the pro-choice argument because if the unborn is human, then no justification for abortion is adequate.

Question 22

*****What are the agnostic and gradualistic views of the beginning of personhood? What are problems with each of them?

Answer 22

The agnostic view of personhood is that no one really knows when personhood begins. If we don’t know if the embryo or fetus is a person, we should err on the side of caution and NOT kill it because it might be a person.
The Gradualistic view suggests that we clearly aren’t persons before and are clearly persons now. “An acorn is not yet an oak tree”. A weakness with the gradualistic view is that at some point we have to be 1/2 of a person, then 2/3 and eventually whole. There also is no evidence that suggests that personhood can develop gradually instead of being a property that something either had or doesn’t have.

Question 23

**List the 4 characteristics in the SLED acronym, and explain how it is used.

Answer 23

S- size: the unborn is smaller than a born human so s it okay to kill because its not as big as a teenager or adult.
L- level of development: the unborn is less developed than a born human being. We cannot disqualify people from personhood for reasons like reproductive systems are less developed.
E: environment: The unborn is located in a different environment that a born human.
D: degree of dependency: theunborn is dependent upon the mother’s body for nutrition and a proper environment.

Question 24

Why are fertilized eggs distinct human beings and how are they different from other somatic cells?

Answer 24

Fertilized eggs are distinct human beings because the DNA is different from the mother and father. Fertilized eggs are different from somatic cells because it is leading to a distinct person.

Question 25

What is the difference between a right to life and a right to vote?

Answer 25

• A right to life is a moral status.

- A right to vote is a state granted right.