Exam Cards - Abortion

Question 1

In the UK, how many weeks of a pregnancy is abortion allowed up to?

Answer 1

24 weeks.

Question 2

Which year was the Abortion Act passed?

Answer 2

1967.

Question 3

Which issues are considered in the abortion debate?

Answer 3

• Personhood
• Potentiality
• Rights of the mother
• Rights of the foetus
• Sanctity of life

Question 4

Define the Sanctity of Life.

Answer 4

The view that human life is sacred and of special value.

Question 5

Which Bible quotes support the view that human life is sacred?

Answer 5

• ‘Thou shalt not commit murder’. - life should not be taken
• ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price.’ - Human life belongs to God

Question 6

Outline Roman Catholics views regarding abortion.

Answer 6

• Personhood begins at conception
• Abortion is almost always morally wrong
• Abortion should only be allowed if the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life (Double effect)

Question 7

Outline the Methodist views regarding abortion.

Answer 7

• Abortion is always an evil, and should be avoided if possible
• However, abortion may sometimes be the lesser of two evils (mother is at risk, pregnancy result of rape, etc.)
• Fourteen days is an important stage of a pregnancy, as that’s when the neurological system begins to develop, but it’s not possible to accurately identify when personhood begins

Question 8

Define the term ensoulment.

Answer 8

The creation or placing of a soul within a human being, making it a person.

Question 9

In Islam, when is ensoulment believed to occur?

Answer 9

Between 40 and 120 days.

Question 10

What did Jack Mahoney put forward as the criteria for personhood?

Answer 10

• Rationality
• Sentience
• Emotions
• Free-will
• Continuity

Question 11

What distinction did Peter Singer make between human beings and human persons?

Answer 11

Human beings are simply life forms belonging to the species homo sapiens. Human persons are beings that can show rationality and self-consciousness.

Question 12

Which philosopher argued that personhood depends on moral reciprocity?

Answer 12

Mary Anne Warren.

Question 13

What is the argument against personhood depending on moral reciprocity?

Answer 13

Young children may not have the ability to respect others’ human rights, yet it is considered morally wrong to kill children (apparently).

Question 14

What is the problem with the argument that personhood begins at birth?

Answer 14

It is difficult to argue that it is not a person a day earlier, for example.

Question 15

Which philosopher suggests that ‘we accord the life of a foetus no greater value than the life of a non-human animal at a similar level of rationality, self-consciousness, awareness, capacity to feel, etc?’

Answer 15

Peter Singer.

Question 16

Which philosopher argued the to prohibit abortion would be to infringe upon the rights of the mother?

Answer 16

Judith Jarvis Thomson.

Question 17

Why did Thomson argue that prohibiting abortion infringes upon the mother’s right to self-determination?

Answer 17

The mother is not morally obliged to keep the foetus.

Question 18

Why does Mary Anne Warren argue that a foetus cannot have a significant human rights claim against the mother?

Answer 18

Because the adult woman is fully developed and deserving of rights.

Question 19

Why does Don Marquis argue that killing is morally wrong?

Answer 19

It is not wrong because of its effect on the victim’s friends and relatives, but it deprives the victim of their life, therefore depriving them of all future experiences.

Question 20

What is the problem with Marquis’ argument that abortion is wrong?

Answer 20

A foetus is incapable of conceiving its own future. Therefore, it is not immoral to deprive it of something it has no knowledge of.

Question 21

How do you value your what you contribute of to at the workforce, and at which do you most can’t the least?

Answer 21

I am a highly skilled microphone cleaner, my masters. And what I most can’t the least would be do not a bad job but always a good.