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PHIL 160: Exam 3
abortion |
the intentional ending of a pregnancy
|
contraception |
prevents the occurrence of a pregnancy by preventing conception
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miscarriage |
the unintentional ending of a pregnancy
|
pro-life arguments
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1. sanctity of life argument
2. future of value argument |
pro-choice arguments1. personhood argument
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self-determination argument
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the sanctity of life argument
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1. it's wrong to end the life of an innocent human being
2. the life of a human being begins at conception
3. a fetus is an innocent human being
4. therefore, it is wrong to end the life of a fetus |
Problems with the sanctity of life argument
|
Problem 1: "it's wrong to kill an innocent being" might not be true
---what about beings with no significant cognitive functioning?
Problem 2: seems inconsistent with exceptions for rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother
---some pro-life advocates think these exceptions are okay because they also condone murder
---other pro-life advocates think it is TOO pro-life |
future of value argument
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1. it's wrong to end the life of a baby who has a future of value
2. except in rare cases, a fetus has a future of value
3. therefore, except in rare cases, it is wrong to end the life of a fetus |
problems with the future of value argument
|
problem 1: seems inconsistent with exceptions of rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother
problem 2: how it weighs the future of the fetus against the future of the pregnant woman
---in order to support pro-life, argument must hold that the fetus's future is more important than the pregannt woman's future |
euthanasia
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the ending of a life done with the aim of saving the person from continued suffering or poor quality of life (AKA: mercy killing)
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physician assisted suicide
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a suicide committed with the assistance of a doctor (doctor provides patient with lethal drugs; doctor does not inject them)
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active euthanasia
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the intervention causes death
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passive euthanasia
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the person has a medical condition that is sufficient to cause death and death happens when that medical condition is not treated or treatment is withdrawn
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voluntary consent
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with the will of the person
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non voluntary consent
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the person's will is not involved
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involuntary consent
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against the will of the person
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2 arguments for active euthanasia (with explanations)
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1. it will save people from a lot of suffering
---many who want euthanasia do not have an underlying medical condition that will kill them if left untreated
2. active euthanasia already happens under another description
----safer and more honest to openly allow it with the appropriate regulations |
3 objections to active euthanasia (with explanations)
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1. doctors should not kill
2. if we allow active voluntary euthanasia, it will put us on a slippery slope toward active involuntary euthanasia (prediction)
3. most people who want active euthanasia are obsessed with maintaing complete control over their lives
----how can we say this is an unacceptable reason for waiting euthanasia? |
Singer's principles (aid to the poor)
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principle excusing us from making sacrifices of comparable moral significance
principle excusing us from making any morally significant sacrifices
Singer holds that proximity and distance do not affect our obligations to others |
Arthur's principles (aid to the poor)
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shows that Singer's first principle has many counter-intuitive implications
violations of people's rights
not giving people what they deserve
Arthur endorses a principle similar to Singer's moderate principle that excuses us from significantly reducing our own happiness |
personhood argument
|
1. the only humans whose lives it is wrong to end are persons
2. human fetuses are not persons
3. therefore, it is not wrong to end the life of a human fetus |
problem with the personhood argument
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it implies the the moral permissibility of not only abortion, but also infanticide
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self-determination argument
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1. forcing a person to bear a significant burden in the absence of a compelling reason violates her right of self-determination
2. being pregnant and giving birth, when one does not desire that, is such a burden
3. therefore, forcing a person to remain pregnant and to give birth, when she does not desire that, violates her right of self-determination |
Roe vs. Wade 1973 Supreme Court Decision
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-the self-determination argument was the basis for the decision
-the court relied on the concept of privacy
-it did not mean the right to keep things secret, but rather, the right to make one's decisions about important aspects of one's life (the right of self-determination) |
the right of self-determination
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the right to control your own body; the right to have children or not; the right to live where you want; the right to go to any college you get into; the right to work in whatever kind of job you want
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