Abortion- Backgroundo 1973 Supreme Court rules in Roe v Wade that a woman has a right to an abortion based on the right to privacyo One question: Is the fetus a person? “If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case, of course, collapses for the fetus’ right to life is guaranteed…”o Why aren’t fetuses a person according to court?1. There is no agreed upon point in fetal development when a fetus becomes a person2. Common law sets the point at birth3. Therefore, legally, birth marks the point of personhoodo But is this the right moral place to draw the line?- Marry Anne Warren “On the Moral Legal Status of Abortion”o Overview Argues that fetuses are not “one of us” in the relevant senses Therefore, abortion is always permissible (and trivial) “Abortion is obviously not morally serious and extremely unfortunate…but rather it is closer to being morally neutral, like cutting one’s hair.”o 1. The Standard Argument1. It is wrong to kill innocent human beings2. Fetuses are innocent human beings3. Therefore, it is wrong to kill human fetuses.- The argument is invalid: It equivocates between 2 different senses of “human”o Equivocation: the same word is used with two different meanings, the conclusion does not actually follow- Moral sense (1): a member of the moral community (person)- Genetic sense (2): a member of the species homo sapieno 2. What is a person? We need independent criteria that that of species membership- Criteria:1. Consciousness (ability to feel pain)2. Reasoning (developed capacity to solve problems)3. Self-motivated activity (not reflexes)4. Communication (on an indefinite topics)5. Self-concepts What counts as a person?o 1 and 2 might be sufficiento 1,2, and 3 quite probably are sufficiento Something that fails to satisfy any of the criteria is not a person Fetuses Severely mentally disabled Severely brain damaged Infants? Is there a point in fetal development when the fetus becomes a person?- “Thus, in the relevant respects, a fetus, even a fully developed one, is considerably less person-like than is the average mature mammal, indeed the average fish.”o 3. Postscripts on Infanticide Does this argument sanction infanticide?- Warren’s Responseo Killing and infant is analogous to wantonly destroying a piece of art: Since other people take pleasure in infants, we shouldn’t kill them- Is that a good enough reason?- Don Marquis “Why Abortion is Immoral”o Basic Strategy: Argues that what makes it wrong to kill us also makes it wrong to kill fetuses Therefore, abortion is prima facie seriously morally wrong This argument is non-religious Does not hinge on whether a fetus is a persono 1. Getting Past Personhood Two accounts of personhood:1. Biological: human beings are persons - Used to show that abortion is always wrong- Problems:o Are cancer cells persons?o Human being implies some degree of development, and does not clearly rule out early-term abortionso Rules on the moral relevance of intelligent alienso What is morally relevant about the number of chromosomes in something’s cells?2. Psychological: anything with a certain set of psychological traits is a person- Used to show that abortion is always permissible- Problems:o Cannot explain why infanticide is wrongo Requires additional moral principles to explain why killing the severely mentally disabled, or sleeping people is wrongo What is morally relevant about a certain set of psychological traits?- Why Psychology Matters: Feinbergo Certain psychological traits are necessary for moral responsibility, moral reasoning, and valuing our futureo Problems: May be necessary for having duties, but not rights  Cannot rule out the right of fetuseso Therefore, personhood cannot settle the abortion debateo 2. The Wrongness of Killing Assume that it is wrong to kill 3 explanations1. Effects on killer2. Effects on people left behind3. Effects on the victim What makes killing wrong is that it deprives the victim of a future of valueo 3. Implications of Abortion Do fetuses have a future of value?- The future of a standard fetus includes a set of experiences, projects, activities, that are identical with the futures of young children Therefore, killing fetuses is prima facie wrong Therefore, abortion is prima facie wrongo 4. Is Contraception Wrong? Contraception prevents a future of value Is there a determinate individual denied a future of value?- Sperm- Ovum- Sperm and ovum- Sperm-ovum as a single unit None of these is a determinate individual with a future of valueo 5. Possible Problems When does a fetus become and individual with a future of value? Would we want to condone the death penalty or life in prison forpeople who perform or obtain abortions?- Noonan, “An Almost Absolute Value in History”o 1. Drawing Lines Casuistical principle: for a moral distinction with respect to themoral status of something to be credible, it must:1. Track an objective difference2. That difference must explain the difference in moral status Possibilities1. Viability: a being can survive outside the womb after viability- Baby is just as dependent on others as a fetus- Does not track an objective change in status2. Experience (particularly memory of)- Fetuses have experience- Losing your memory does not make you not a person- Does not track a moral change in status3. Sentiments in others- People grieve more when a young person dies than if anold person dies- But the old are no less people- Does not track a moral change in status4. Social recognition- Persons can be denied social recognition - But there are no less persons- Does not track a change in moral statuso 2. Probabilities Every egg has a .2% chance of becoming a human being Every sperm has a 1 in 2 million chance of becoming a human being Once an egg is fertilized, it has a 4 out of 5 chance of becoming a human being1. The point of conception marks an objective change in probabilities2. Probabilities are morally relevant- Shooting at bushes with a 1 in 2 million chance of hitting a person is permissible, but shooting if the chance is 80% is negligent3. Therefore, the point of conception marks a moral distinction- The point at which a human being is morally significant- The fetus is not a person from conception - Conception marks the point that a fetus has a good chance of becoming a person- Thus, from conception, the