RS (Ethics)- Abortion Flashcards
Pro-choice believes women shouln’t be denied their..?
basic human rights
Pro-life belives the foetus is a .?
human life
Doctrine of Double Effect?
arbortion might occur beuase of a different medical procedurelike an ectopic pregnancy
Personhood?
characteristics: ability to feel pleasure/pain, reaspn, conscience
John Locke
ability to feelpain/pleasure but conscience has to eb biocindtional- essential for the other condtions to take palce
Peter Singer- foetus has to be able to feel pain but to ratinilse and understandit
Mary Ann Warren- list, people don’y ave to hae all of them but since a foets has none of them sentience, reason, self-awreness, capable of rational thought- its only a potential person
Natural Law?
deontological-motive (interior act ahs to eb right)
teleogical- end urpose of God
Primary preceots- preservation of life (isue of personhood and sancity of life), reprioduction (god-given purpose of sex)
To find the right action- reason + natiral moral law within [syndersis-qutoe],
Christians usign divine Law- examples of Jesus heloping Hannah to ahve a child
purpsoe- union with God
interior + exterior acts ahve to be virtous>fidnt hese by using 5 primary preceptds>use reason to find secondary precepts
Using reasont o work out real and aparent good(like to abortion
Does Natural LAw accept Doctrien fo Double Effect?
Yes
Kant
deontolifcal- purelty on intention (has to e only goodwill) + duty as a person= right action
follow ‘moral law within’ [syndersis] but can’t become tangled ith dubious intenton/bad outcome
autonomous (free to choose right action)
‘good will shine forth like a precious jewel’- if any oher motive, like wanting to move on with thie life it si wrong
free from any emotional judgement (impossible with abortion)
hypothetical imperitive -useless ‘If i do this..then this will hppen’ (dependant on outcome)
Cateogical impertive- 3 maxims
universalisation- can’t universile it for everbody or nobody (absoltuism doens’t work becuas eof cultral relativism-differnet imes/cultures)
can universise specific cases- still diffculut (peoples different views- young girls, rape)
can’t universlise ‘everbody should ahve an abortion- self-contradicting the will- illogical)
universiling it for specific people- its not self-cotnradcting to say only if the mother’s lfie is threatened/ she’s been raped- problem of everybody being abke to live ina a world with this rule
Treating people as end not means (humanity is hgihest point in Gd’s creation- issue of personhood
Kingdom of Ends- treating people with the same human rights as each other- issue of cultral relativism (whats right fro some isnt right for toherse e.g agaisnt abortion in Africa
What do Natural moral law, kant and christian ethics have in common about all human life?
It has instrinsic value
Utilitarisnim?
weighs up pain and pleasure involved- foetus, mother, doctors (their pain),
reject view that life has instrinic outcome- onl dependant of outcome (consequentalsit)
Act utilitarisnism- judge each situation indivduall- decide wthich adds up to more pleasure on hedonic calculus e.g intensity/duration of pleasure (equates all forms of pleasure to each other)- more relativsit- depemds on crculstance but calculate spain/pleasure for mother, foetus, father [bentham-doesen’t specify on eprosnhood]
Doesn’t take into account minoirty- apply principle of utility
Hedonic Calculus- abortion can’t calculate it becuase can’t predict the future pain it could cuase (e.g. regret of the mother)
Mill- hgiher and ower pelaures (humans are gigher-issue of personhood)- rule- fixed rules necessary for society to operate (mroe absolutist)- can make exdtions to pritect weak ruke= exceptions>results in act utlitiairsnim
minority- foetus’s pain of being aborted might be more improtnat than pleasure of mother-formualte a rule
sacrifices individuals pleasure for whole fo community - might sacrifice mother’s pleasure if foetous could have a valuabel impact
Alternatively- could ague fi disabled- more pain than pleasure if not aborted- (bot Benthama nd Mill)- Mill say this could have a negative impact on society- paying welfare benefits- make a rule that if its diabled you can have it aborted
{doesn’t allow exceotions]
Prefernce- Singer- ‘my preferences cannot count more than the prefernces of other- wouldn’t consider foetus (issue of eprsonhood)- less than 18 weels
argued veryone should ahve equal consideration- concentratred on minisingn suffering- prefernces of mother, doctor, moeny could be spent elswhere
Christian Ethics
Sanctity of life- god-given sacred gift (humans are hgihest of the worthiest respect)
destruction of life is therfor wrong
Imago Dei-made in the image of God
Genesis 1:27- God created human being making them to be like himself’ like harming
God (ensoulment)- begins at conception (Catholics)- ‘You saw me before i was born’- Psalm 139:16 (God ahs a planf or every human life-duty to lok afetr creation)
Catholics: ‘ the embryonic child has a human soul’
Aquinas- ensoument- ‘blueprint for the body- could be argued its when the nervous system devlops
Augustine (80 days)/Pope Innocent ll said 13 weeks)
Baptist view- value fo life of a foetus increases as it grows
Bible shows Jesus with Hannah/Jesus’ pacifism’ those who live by the sword die by the sword’-emphasised importance of every human life/pacfisism ‘Do not kill’ (allowed in war)
Contraduiction- Old Testament (God’s actions)- Elizabeth- ‘quickening- when baby leaped in her womb- some believe when it becomes a human
Situation Ethics- Joseph Fletcher- agape ‘unconditonal love for everyone’
Might be lesser of 2 eveils- depends on what wll is the msot lovingthing to do
Jesus’ Golden Rule: (1) ‘Love the lOrd your God with all our sould, all your heart and with all yuor mind and (2) ‘Love your neighbour as you love tyourself’- this might mean if the situaton was reversed you might want an abortion
If its disabled/ moterh is 14 or was raped-mgiht be more oving to terminate the pregnany- relativst- wrng if its just for career prospects
When is a foetus a eprson (law or conception?)
conception- egg does contain all genetic information here
1967 Abortion Act- law recogniuses it as a person at birth
Is a child a right or a gift?
Soem belive evry women has a right to have a child and soem belive children are not a commodity like a house and only God decides who gets to have a child
christian ethics?
God has a plan fro every human lifehuman lfie is sacred/interfere with God’s process is ‘playign God’
god=given prupsoe fo marrige and sexual relations are to procreate fertility treatment id unatural- has no aprt in GOd’s plan
Destruction of spare embryos’ depends on view of christian on personhood
Bible- Jesus’ empahasis on sacred life
Situation ethics- ‘msot lovig things to do [GGolden Rule] is to give a women a child
example of Hannah and Elizabeth- could say it should onl eb granted by intercessory prayer- miracle but scientific developments come fromt he intelelct God gave us
-could be his hidden purpose for us- eternal Law- we can’t know the mid of Goid
Wasn’t used int he past- didn’t ahve the necessary eqipment then- dpesn’t make it wrong
exaples of Jesus rejectign the ewish ethical codes (women outisde temple)- to do the most loving thing to do
Misuse of gentilia- sperm (masturbtion)
Involving surragotes- mechanical adultery
Ten Commandments ‘Do not commit adultery’
Natural Law on right to a child/IVF?
Reprouction - rimary precet- principles for a civilsied society to suruve
-but purpose of marrige/secual relaitons-procreate so IVF is unaccpetablr becuase it intrudes natural process fo conception and destrcution of embryos- presrfvation of life
-depends ion views on personhood
Acceptanc of Doctrine fo Double Effect- interiori act (motive was to give a women a child) and exterior act (do IVF- used reason and natural moral law [ syderesis]- msot women want a child) to permit IVF then the secindary effect of unwanted embryous could be allowed
Conserve secies/bloodline- could be allowed- preserving life for genrations- could end up being beneficial savign moe lives in the future
question whtehr its a real or apparent good- trying to justify it by with ‘conservign a bloodline’ but the amount of embroyos destroyed (moral alw within is sayign is wrong)- mgiht jsut be an apprent good
Wouldn’t lead to eudanmia with God
Kant on IVF/right to a child?
duty to give people a family- Kant disocunts emotion
Categorical impetiive- universailtion- can’t uiversialie everybody (overpopualtion) or nobody but could universialse specifics- too diffciult to decide who has the right and who doesn’t
Treating peopel as a means to an end- issue of personhood
Kingdom of Ends- isn’t possible for every women who wants it to ahve it (cost/only 15% success rate)- would you want to live in a world that permit it?
some countires too poor to have scientific eqipment
conflict of duties- helping someone to have a child and not causing destruciton of spare embryos (both motive is goodwill)- duty to do both [ W.D Ross-
Because spare embryos would mean they die>more importnt duty than heling someone to have a family
embroyos could be used in the futre for meducal cures- Kant doesn’t considder outcome
