Michael Tooley's Abortion And Infanticide

Judith Thomson’s A Defense of Abortion is an article defending abortion on the grounds of rights, duties, and justice. Thomson uses various thought experiments to represent different circumstances surrounding a pregnancy and the permissibility of abortion in these circumstances. One such thought experiment that she uses in her argument is the burglar example. If you open a window and a burglar climbs into your house, anti-abortionists would argue that the burglar has a right to stay in your house and you have a duty to shelter him because you are partially responsible for his presence there. Even if you install bars specifically to keep out burglars and the burglar still manages to break in then you are still partially responsible and he still

Patrick Lee and Robert George assert that abortion is objectively immoral. One of Lee and George’s main reason for coming to this conclusion is that human embryos are living human beings. This essentially validates that abortion is indeed the process of killing a human. Another main point said by the two is a rebuttal to a common argument used in favor of abortion, which states that a potential mother has full parental responsibilities only if she has voluntarily assumed them. The rebuttal to this was that the potential mother does indeed have special responsibilities to raise the child. Similarly to the responsibilities those have with their siblings, although those responsibilities were not chosen, they are definitely there. Another main

Philippa Foot presented a series of moral dilemmas when she discussed abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect. One famous problem of her was the trolley dilemma: “..he is the driver of a runaway tram which he can only steer from one narrow track onto another; five men are working on one track and one on the other; anyone the tack he enters is bound to be killed.” (Foot, 1967, p. 2) What should the driver do? Despite what he does, he will harm someone!1

Even today, there are many moral and philosophical issues that divide the United States because they create very polarized opinions and beliefs. One such philosophical issue is the moral permissibility of infanticide. Mary Anne Warren, a philosopher, presents her liberal yet controversial views on the issue of infanticide in the postscript of her article, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion. However, the anti-infanticide arguments pose problems for Warren’s position because they justify the immorality of infanticide through the physical similarity in resemblance of neonates to human beings. These arguments also claim that the destruction of a viable infant is needless because even if the infant’s biological parents reject the infant, there are many other parents who are willing to adopt and nurture that infant.

This website is sponsored by Google and is used to argue both sides of many controversial issues. It is meant for readers that are for and against abortion or those that have not decided what side to choose. This website provides the pros and cons of abortion, background information, and videos related to the topic. They include that the Supreme Court believes abortion should be a fundamental right to women, however, abortion is also seen as the murder of an innocent, vulnerable, human being yet to be born. Pro-abortionists believe women rights outweigh fetus rights and anti-abortionists believe it causes embryos pain and is unfair to people that

Abortion is not only a fluctuating concept in our society, but an ethical and emotional debate, as well. The image I have chosen presents concepts from a cultural and historical background, as well as presents an ethical, emotional, and logical appeal to the audience.

Abortion is just a technical way of saying the murder of a unborn and should be abolished.

Let’s say the government chose what you wear, what you eat, how and when you sleep, what career you pursue and who you marry. Wouldn’t you deem this strict? Unfair? Stupid even? Why then do we believe that we or the government should have a say in a woman’s choice of aborting a fetus? Why are we so against arranged marriages but so for a woman keeping a child she doesn’t want or can’t support?

After decades, the abortion debate remains a controversial issue, continuing to divide the American populace, while eroding the moral fabric of the country. Contention over national abortion policy continually unfurls in media headlines, and is rapidly becoming a central issue in the political arena. Tragically, pertinent discussion typically disintegrates, with proponents on both sides feeling deeply offended by the discourse. In order to make progress on this issue, it may be helpful to understand the commonalities between advocates on both sides. Regardless of position on this issue, it is evident that all parties involved are deeply concerned with the inherent moral rights of human beings, and the future of the nation. Unfortunately,

The article from our text on “A Defense of Abortion” written by Judith Jarvis Thomason states the right to have an abortion should be the pregnant woman’s decision. Everyone should have the right to do whatever they want with their body. She goes on to mention that the fetus is a “person from the time of conception” (p241). This is what those who seek abortions use as their rational. Judith comes back and contradicts the statement I just presented by stating that she does not believe the “fetus is a person at the time on conception”. So, if the fetus is not a person at the time of conception, this suggests that “everyone has the right to life” (p242). One of the arguments she present is that abortions should be allowed in some cases, such as rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is in danger. When some people think of the word abortion, they think it is about killing an innocent life that did not ask to be created. Killing is often referred to as murder, and that is wrong. Judith appears to be pro-choice when it comes to the decision regarding abortions. Pro-choice

“In the year 2004, there were approximately 1.37 million abortions performed in the United States” (Chew 143). Since 1973 and even before, abortion has raged into a hot-topic issue among the press, politicians, and even doctors; among many other people. This topic has been disputed since even before the late Nineteenth Century. During the 1940s, it even became a social norm to raid the abortionists’ offices. From that time on, the abortion debate has been brought into light many times. Abortion is a never-ending controversial topic, that is why it is important to examine the definition of a fetus, pro-life arguments, and pro-choice arguments.

Abortion is a very controversial topic that has taken the main stage once again in US politics. Recently, new Republican politicians have taken power and have decided to ban abortion. There are two fields of ideas on abortion. One being that it is the murder of an innocent fetus, and that it is completely unethical. The second school of thought is that abortion is a right for women, and that it is ethical. The act of banning abortion is making the rights of women regress rapidly, and many are outraged by it. Pro-Life protesters argue that it is unethical for a woman to receive an abortion as it kills the life of an innocent being, but, they do not think of the lives of the women. Without the abortion, a womans’ life can be destroyed. is being

“Abortion -should it be a right of every woman in the present context- A critical analysis”

One of the furthermost essential issues in biomedical ethics is the controversy around abortion. There’s a long history on this controversy and it is still critically debated among researchers and the public in both terms of morality and legality. Some of the basic questions argued that may perhaps characterize the importance of the issue: Is abortion morally justifiable? Does the foetus/embryo/zygote have any moral and legal rights? Is the foetus a human being and, if so, should it be protected? What are the measures for being a human being? Is there any morally relevant break along the biological process of development from the unicellular zygote to birth? In this essay I will discuss why physician should recommend prenatal testing for severe birth defect even if it might encourages abortion therefore I do not agree with the statement above. My argument will based on the following ethical principles and theories: Utilitarianism, Respect for Autonomy and Virtue

Abortion is much more than a question of how religious you truly are, but rather how much you value morality and life. From a moral standpoint, there is no explanation to why abortion should be legal and supported. Morality is mostly objective and there is a baseline for cultures all around the world, rape is bad, theft is bad, murder is bad, except when it’s an embryo or baby. But to even talk about that we need to know why abortion is horrible.