PHI 1102 Lecture 6: Abortion I
11 Jul 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Abortion: termination of pregnancy by any means, before the fetus is suf ciently developed to survive outside the womb: fetus tends to get used in these debates to cover all stages of fetal development from conception to birth. Therapeutic abortion: mother"s life / health / well-being is at stake. Morgentaler decision was based on mother"s charter right to liberty and security of the person. Court majority explicitly did not take a position about whether the fetus has legal rights. After you are born, you have rights because you were conceived. Until you are born, it"s up to the person who is carrying you. Common assumptions on both sides of abortion debates: if the fetus is a person, abortion is wrong, because a person has a right to life, at least innocent ones do. Sometimes, abortion is wrong because the fetus is a potential person: if the fetus is not a person, abortion is morally permissible.
