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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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The Negative (Critical) Argument thompson uses does what?
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Much of what Thompson is doing can be understood as criticism of a very common argument for prohibiting abortion.
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What common argument does much of Thompson's work criticize?
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"Thompson criticizes the ""Naiive Right to Life Argument"" against abortion rights.
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vi. Abortion ought not to be ______"
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"i....right to life
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Which premise of the Naiive Right to Life Argument is typically rejected by pro-choicers?
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ii. The fetus is a person
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Which parts of the Naiive Right to Life Argument does Thompson accept? reject?
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Thompson accepts the NR2L argument through premise v. but claims the inference made from v. to vi. to be fallicious.
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Why does Thompson claim that the inference from v. to vi. in the NR2L argument is fallacious?
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It falsely assumes that the fetus's right to life conflicts with the mother's right to control her body.
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Thompson argues that the right to life is a_____ right
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....negative...
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"What is meant when it is said that Thompson believes that ""the right to life is a negative right"" ?"
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"The right to life is the right not to be killed unjustly, not the right to have your life sustained."
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"Thompson believes that since the right to life is a negative right, it does not include the right to ___ another's _______for____"
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....use....body ... nine months
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What belief of Thompson's is the unconscience violinist example supposed to establish?
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"The right to life is a negative right meaning that one has the right not to be unjustly killed, not the right to have their life sustained, especially through the use of another's body."
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When do rights conflict?
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When one person has a right that some specific action be done and another has a right that that action not be done.
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"If Thompson is correct about the nature of the right to life, then no conflict exists between which specific rights of which individuals? why does this conflict no longer exist if Thompson is correct?"
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"There is no conflict between the fetus's right to life and the right of the mother to control her own body.
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The abortion conflicts with the ____ of the fetus, but not with its right to life because_________________"
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....life.....the right to life does not include the right to uthe use of the mother's body
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One objection to the accuracy of the violinist example with respect to abortion makes what distinction between the two cases?
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"In the case of the violinist, the woman is simply removing support and ALLOWING the violinist TO DIE
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How might one respond to Thompson if they believe that the right to life is indeed a negative right in a way that allows them to support the prohibition of abortion?
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"The right to life is the right not to be killed (negative) not the right to have your life sustained.
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"The argument that abortion violates the fetus's negative right not to be killed, while the violinist does not because he is simply allowed to die, relies on what distinction?"
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"This objection depends on drawing a sharp moral distinction between:
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"Even if sharp distinctions are made between killing and letting die, one could reply that abortion would be morally permissible by what method?"
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"Severing the umbilical cord, removing the fetus and allowing it to die due to lack of support (letting die)"
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Anti Abortion Position
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"Any position according to which abortion is a serious moral wrong that can be justified only in exceptional circumstances
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Neutralism
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"Abortion is, in itself, morally neutral.
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Positions on the Moral Status of Legal Restrictions on Abortion
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"1. Pro-Choice Position
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Pro-Choice Position
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"Extreme: There should be NO legal restrictions on the woman's right to get an abortion
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Abolitionism
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"Extreme: The state should prohibit ALL abortions
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"""Fetus"""
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The developing human being during all stages of gestation
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What is the main question around which moral controversies concerning abortion are centered?
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"When does life begin?
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Why is the issue not concerned directly about when the fetus is truly human?
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"Biologically, all cells in the body have human DNA, however nobody believes that each cell has the same right to life that a fetus does."
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Personhood: What is the issue? What is a 'person'
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"The issue seems to be: When does a PERSON'S life begin?
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III. When Life Begins—The Answers? When do people usually argue that life begins?
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"A. Conception
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B. During Gestation:
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"A person’s life begins sometime after conception but before birth. The
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C. Birth (or Later):
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"A person’s life begins at (or possibly sometime after) birth.
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A. Conception"
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"1. Genetic Humanity
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Genetic Humanity:
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The life of a person begins at conception because at that point the fetus has the full complement of human genes.
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"Criticisms of ""Genetic Humanity"""
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"What science establishes is that the fetus in genetically human.
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Why is being genetically human not necessary?
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Because of the possibility of nonhuman intelligent beings.
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Why is being genetically human not sufficient?
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"It is not sufficient because every cell of your body is genetically human—
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The life of a person begins at conception because?"
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From that state on there is a gradual and continuous development into an individual that is clearly a person.we must hold that a person's life begins at conception.
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"According to the continuity argument, why must we hold conception as the point at which one becomes a human?"
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Since there is no place in the gradual development which begins at conception to draw the line.
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What three things are assumed and not defended by the continuity argument?
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"1. That there must be a sharp line between those things which are and those things which are not persons with a right to life
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The assumption that there must be a sharp line at which a fetus is a person ignores what?
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"This assumption ignores the fact that many believe that a person's life begins at a particular instant.
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Why is it an unjustified assumption that conception succeeds in drawing such a sharp line in one's life?
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"The process of conception is, in itself, a gradual process that cannot be seen as a singular process.
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Why is the continuity argument making an unjustified assumption when it assumes that there is no other relevant place to draw the line other than conception?
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"Because of this assumption, this argument cannont be taken as conclusive until all suggestions for ""drawing the line"" have been refuted."
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Common arguments and points cited as life's beginning sometime during gestation?
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"1. Heartbeat
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How is HEARTBEAT often argued to mark the beginning of a person's life?
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"Since the stopping of a spontaneous heartbeat marks one's death, the beginning of a heartbeat marks the beginning of one's life."
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Why do some say that HEARTBEAT FAILS TO MARK the beginning of one's life?
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"We do NOT mark the end of a person's life by the cessation of a spontaneous heartbeat:
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Why is meant by VIABILITY in reference to its effectiveness as an adequate trait to mark the beginning of one's life?
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"A person's life begins when:
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When is a fetus typically viable outside the womb?
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5-6 months after conception
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When doe fetal heartbeat typically begin?
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~18 days after conception
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Why do some say that VIABILITY FAILS to mark the beginning of one's life?
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Technological advances can determine and change when viability is possible however technological advances DO NOT change the time at which a person's life truly begins.
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Why is meant by SPONTANEOUS MOVEMENT in reference to its effectiveness as an adequate trait to mark the beginning of one's life?
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A person's life begins when it is capable of spontaneous movement.
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Spontaneous movement marks the beginning of life."
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"Spontaneous movement is not necessary for a person to be alive.
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Why is meant by BRAIN ACTIVITY in reference to its effectiveness as an adequate trait to mark the beginning of one's life?
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"Since we mark death with the cessation of brain activity, we must mark the beginning of life with the onset of brain activity."
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Positions concerning the Moral Status of Abortion
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"1. Anti-Abortion Position
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When does brain activity typically begin?
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~6 weeks after conception
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Brain Activity marks the beginning of one's life."
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"Not all brain activity gives a person qualities that are respected as those of life.
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Why is meant by PHYSICAL SIMILARITY in reference to its effectiveness as an adequate trait to mark the beginning of one's life?
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"From a very early point in pregnancy, the fetus looks like a person; it has fingers, toes, nose, etc.
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Physical similarity marks the beginning of one's life/right to life"
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"Physical similarity between a fetus and a normal adult human is:
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Why is physical similarity between a fetus and a normal adult human NOT NECESSARY for a right to life?
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Consider the sort of intelligent nonhuman life imagined by science fiction writers.
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Why is physical similarity between a fetus and a normal adult human NOT SUFFICIENT for a right to life?
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"Consider:
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Life begins at BIRTH OR LATER"
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"1. Spontaneous Breathing
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Why is the advent of spontaneous breathing argued to be the beginning of the right to life?
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"Since the end of life is marked by the cessation of spontanous breathing, the beginning of life should be marked by the advent of spontaneous breathing."
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Spontaneous breathing marks the beginning of one's life at birth"
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"The breathing impulse occurs much earlier than the time of one's birth.
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Why is Self-Awareness considered to be a justifiable marker of the beginning of one's life/right to life?
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"Self awareness is a requirement for personhood and thus gives us the right to life because:
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Self-awareness marks the beginning of one's life."
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"1. Self-awareness develops well after birth.
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What does the criticism for the self-awareness argument not entail?
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"1. There is nothing morally wrong with killing infants for convenience.
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"If the defender of the position that self-awareness is not a good point to mark the beginning of one's life, as well as the position defending one's right to abortion, what must they explain?"
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Why it is wrong to kill infants even though they don't have a right to life... on grounds which won't entail that it is also wrong to have an abortion
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Simple Bodily Rights Argument
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A woman has an unconditional right to an abortion because everyone has a right to control her own body.
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Simple Bodily Rights Argument"
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"It is simply false that any person has the right to do whatever they want to their own body.
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Appeal to Consequences
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"Abortion should not be prohibited or restricted to such an extent that women seek illegal abortions and are left to deal with the consequences.
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Appeal to Consequences"
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"This argument assumes:
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Then...??"
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The Serious harms to the woman would have to be weighed against the certainty of the great moral evil of the death of the fetus
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Assuming that the death of the fetus is not a great moral evil begs the question against which position?
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The Anti-Abortion Position
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