Moral Reasoning

Dr. Darina SALIBA ABI CHEDID

Abortion

End of theory part of the course. Beginning of practical issues.

Abortion
Definition: The termination of a pregnancy so that it does not result in birth.

Abortion
History: Earliest records of abortion: 16th c BC in Egypt 6th c BC in China

Abortion is one of the oldest medical practices, evidence of which dates back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Abortion techniques used by Egyptian pharaohs were documented in the ancient Ebers Papyrus (1550 B.C.).

A Chinese record documents the number of royal concubines who had abortions in China between the years 515 and 500 BCE. According to Chinese folklore, the legendary Emperor Shennong prescribed the use of mercury to induce abortions nearly 5000 years ago. It is believed that during the Middle Ages, abortion techniques were adopted and accepted by Western Europe and later diffused across the globe.

Case
A young lady in a very conservative village was raped by a stranger and got pregnant. No one knew about the incident except her mother. Once this young lady delivers her child, she will almost certainly not get married anymore. This means she will have to work hard all her life to bring up the child alone, and she will be lowly regarded. Should she have an abortion?

What if she was not in a conservative society, but in a big city like New York. Would you recommend an abortion?

What if she got pregnant not out of rape but from an affair out of wedlock? Would you recommend an abortion?

Abortion
Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice

 Utilitarianism

 Utilitarianism Kant

 Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics Emotivism

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics Emotivism Sartre

UTILITARIANISM
Utilitarians would ask whether having an abortion brings about the greatest good. Having an abortion because of financial pressures, other family members' needs, education, work, any of these reasons may be justified by the hedonic calculus. Utilitarianism generally supports a pro-choice position, and Mill strongly believed in individual sovereignty: Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

KANTS ETHICAL THEORY

The best place to start with Kant is to take a maxim and universalize it. If it is a selfcontradiction or a contradiction of the will, you have a duty not to act according to that maxim. The maxim "You should have an abortion" becomes a self-contradictory universal maxim "Everyone should have abortions". It couldn't possibly work, as there would be no people to have abortions.

KANTS ETHICAL THEORY

Choose a different maxim: "People who have been raped should have abortions. Here you no longer have a self-contradiction. However, this must be a contradiction of the will. Would you want to make a law of nature that ended pregnancy naturally if it arose out of rape? At first we might think this would be a perfectly desirable - people who have been raped would maybe prefer not to be pregnant.

KANTS ETHICAL THEORY

However, if I willed such a law of nature, I might be willing myself out of existence, as there are undoubtedly rational persons who have been born as a result of rape. I couldn't will a universal law of nature that would have prevented my own existence. Could Kant's theory ever support abortion? It seems that even in the case of a threat to the mother's life, it would be using humanity merely as a means to an end to have an abortion.

NATURAL LAW
Natural Law asks what our purpose is as humans. One of the primary rules is to protect and preserve the innocent. This alone leads to a secondary rule: Do not abort. (Absolute deontological principles that have no exceptions) For Natural Law, abortion is not an option.

NATURAL LAW
EXAMPLE: A transplant surgeon needs a dozen organs to save the lives of 12 people. He sees a healthy man who has all of these organs. A utilitarian calculation says the greater good would be served by secretly killing this man and saving the other 12 people with his organs. Natural Law says that killing an innocent person is not an option, so you don't have to even consider it.

SITUATION ETHICS
Fletcher said we should not get rid of rules - they are a useful guide in most situations. However, the only thing good in itself is love, and we may be required to 'push our principles aside and do the right thing'. The Church of England's position, that abortion is evil but may be the 'lesser of two evils' is consistent with a situationist approach. If a woman has been raped, abortion may be an act of love.

SITUATION ETHICS
For example, consider a case where a foetus has a serious disability and the parents are worried that they would be unable to bring up the child financially, or that doing so might take time away from their other children, it may be a compassionate response to abort the foetus to take away such a great burden.

Limit in Abortion?

Limit in Abortion?
What if a pregnant woman is invited to a party, and she does not feel cool about going out in public with a big belly. Should she have an abortion?

Quotes on Abortion
Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants.

Quotes on Abortion
Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants.

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

Quotes on Abortion
Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants.

it is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another.

END OF SLIDES ON ABORTION

FOR THE NEXT TIME: EUTHANASIA

 Utilitarianism

 Utilitarianism Kant

 Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics Emotivism

Utilitarianism Kant Natural Law Situation Ethics Religious Ethics Emotivism Sartre