Abortion Flashcards
Give the intro for a question on abortion.
Address wording of question Definition Explain pro life/ choice Key concern is when egg Becomes a person Present an argument
What is one way to identify a person in relation to abortion
Give an issue with this approach
Personhood could be based on certain characteristics
Many variations eg consciousness/ pain perception / ensoulment?
Should personhood really be based on physical features!?
What did Eva Kittay argue
Argued against abortion of the disabled As they are the most vulnerable in society
This links to the Kantian duty of care
What did Warren argue and when
Whose arguments link to this
1991
Making abortion illegal fails to respects women’s rights to liberty, autonomy and freedom from bodily harm (pregnancy is v risky)
Benschof (1985)
Quote for Benschof
Give the year
“Privacy, autonomy and bodily integrity”
What did Judith Jarvis Thompson argue
In “A Defense of Abortion”
Pregnancy is unconsensual and women have no moral obligation to continue - connecting violinist
Granting foetal “right to life” does not override woman’s jurisdiction over her own body
People seeds
What are the 2 pro life arguments
Basing personhood on physical features
Eva Kittay + Kantian duty of care
Give the counter argument to pro choice
What is your rebuttal
Hippocratic Oath
Outdated: swears to Greek gods (eg Apollo and Panacea) and says doctors “will not use the knife”
What does the Hippocratic Oath say about abortion
I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion
What are the 3 pro choice arguments
Autonomy (Warren and Benschof)
Judith Jarvis Thompson
Donohue- Levitt hypothesis
What is the hypothesis proposed in “Freakonomics”
The Donohue Levitt hypothesis
Give a vague structure of your abortion essay
Intro Identity as a person Eva Kittay Autonomy Thompson Hippocratic Oath Donohue-Levitt hypothesis Law
What is the Donohue Levitt hypothesis
There was a reduced crime rate in the years following the legalisation of abortion in the US
Crime dipped in 1992 (18 years after legalisation in 1973)
Key points about the Law on abortion
The Abortion Act 1967, amended in 1990
Allows abortion before 24 weeks of 2 doctors agree
No time limit if delivery would cause “grave permanent injury” physically or mentally
Or if there is a “substantial risk” of child being “seriously handicapped “
Miscellaneous abortion points
Religious arguments
Consequentialist argument
Contraception/ masturbation morally wrong?
Is 1 cell= adult?
Cloning suggests all somatic cells can be potential humans so even haircuts are morally wrong
Margret Atwood: government taking control of body cf conscription
