PHI2604 Lecture Notes - Abortion Debate, Fetus
Document Summary
People contend that giving birth can be socially dysfunctional, ethically irresponsible, and even cruel in some cases. This runs counter to conservatives" values of stability and bourgeois responsibility. The issue at hand is whether or not abortion should be legalized. The dilemma is due to two factors, at what point of embryonic development, if at all, and for what reasons, is abortion justified. Liberals, on the other hand, find the conservative argument against abortion incomprehensible. The arguments are lessened by the latter"s insistence on using tradition and purity as bases for judgment. The moral status of the fetus is commonly assumed to be the deciding factor in whether abortion should be legalized. If the fetus is a moral person, then it has a right to life that, at the very least, trumps the mother"s less essential right to regulate her own body, according to this well-worn argument.
