Abortion and disability

Question 1

What is the ‘Human Being’ argument in abortion?

Answer 1

• Always wrong to kill an innocent human being deliberately
• Human fetuses = innocent human beings.
• So always wrong to kill human fetus deliberately.
• Abortion = deliberate killing of a human fetus.
• So abortion is always wrong.

Question 2

What are the arguments against the human being argument in abortion?

Answer 2

• What is it about human life that makes it more valuable than other forms of life?
• If we say that a zygote has special value simply by being human is this speciesist?
• Is a zygote a human being?
• Is killing a zygote morally equivalent to killing a 5 year old child

Question 3

What is the ‘Person’ argument

Answer 3

• Persons = individuals with self-awareness and autonomy.
• Only persons have a right to life.
• A human fetus is not a person.
• The human fetus does not have a right to life.
• Therefore abortion is morally permissible (but not necessarily desirable).

Question 4

What are the arguments against the ‘Person argument’ in abortion?

Answer 4

Neonates, young infants, adults with severe mental disability lack self-awareness and autonomy.

Therefore:

These individuals are not persons.
They do not have a right to life.
Infanticide and killing those with severe mental disability is morally permissible.

Question 5

What is the gradualist approach in abortion?

Answer 5

• Fetus moral value increases with gestational development.
• So zygote no right to life but a 38 week fetus does.
• So morning after-pill or an early termination morally permissible but a late termination would not be

Question 6

What are the arguments against gradualist approach

Answer 6

• How do we decide when the fetus acquires a right to life?
• What morally relevant feature(s) has the fetus acquired at this time-point?
• Does the same time cut-off apply to a fetus with a serious disability?

Question 7

Are human relationships morally relevant in abortion?

Arguments against this:

Answer 7

• Baby born => forms relationships
• Human relationships = morally valuable.
• So baby higher moral value once born.
• So people without loving relationships less valuable?
• Infanticide of abandoned babies morally permissible?
• Simply because baby is invisible that we feel incapable of forming a relationship before birth?

Question 8

What is the women’s rights perspective on abortion?

Arguments against:

Answer 8

• Respecting women’s autonomous choices
• Autonomous choice to have abortion morally permissible

We can limit the autonomy of others if their autonomous choices harm others.
An abortion harms the fetus.
Therefore, it is an acceptable limit to autonomy to stop a woman having an abortion.

If fetus not person does killing a fetus constitute legitimate harm in terms of limiting the autonomy of a woman?

Question 9

Is there a duty to save in pregnancy?

Answer 9

Duty not to kill deliberately, moral to save (maybe duty?) but cannot have duty to save everyone irrespective of cost to ourselves

Fetus may have same right to life as adult but pregnancy significant physical burden + risk to mother so woman no moral duty to continue pregnancy

What if pregnancy planned? Does woman duty to continue pregnancy if planned? Changing mind after donating kidney

Question 10

What are maternal duties in pregnancy?

Answer 10

Even if abortion permissible: morally not a good thing, fetus has moral value, mother has obligations towards fetus

Question 11

Does mother have a duty to act in best interests of fetus?

Answer 11

Mother duty to act in best interests of fetus? Morally acceptable for us to change woman’s behaviour which harms fetus eg, smoking?

Question 12

What is the legal status of the foetus?

Answer 12

Fetus recognised entity in law but no right to life.

Once born acquires full legal rights.

Question 13

How is a mother’s pregnancy affect her legal rights?

Answer 13

Does not affect her legal rights

Can engage in (lawful) behaviour harmful to fetus.

Can refuse medical treatment including caesarean section even if it risks the life of the baby.

Question 14

What are paternal rights in pregnancy?

Answer 14

Once born father has legal responsibilities (child maintenance)

During pregnancy father has no rights, no right to request/veto abortion, no legal right to be consulted or informed of abortion

Question 15

What 3 things must law makers consider when passing law?

Answer 15

• Fairness
• Public consensus
• Policy implications

Question 16

What are the legal grounds for abortion?

Answer 16

<24 weeks: risks to physical + mental health of women and children in family greater if pregnancy continued

Any stage:

1) necessary to prevent grave + permanent injury to mother
2) continuing pregnancy greater risk to life pf pregnant women than termination
3) substantial risk of serious physical or mental handicap