Abortion: A Woman's Right
Abortion: A Woman's Right [A critical Exposition of L.W. Sumner's article "Abortion: A Moderate View]
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Sarah Landau on March 29, 2008 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
In, "Abortion: A Moderate View", L.W. Sumner outlines what he calls the "established" views on abortion. He follows by arguing for what he calls a "moderate" view. This essay will provide both an explanation of Sumner's philosophical position and a critical evaluation of that position. In addition to the above, Sumner's position will be juxtaposed against that of Mary Anne Warren and Donald Marquis' positions on the moral and legal status of the fetus and abortion.
Exposition
Sumner begins his article with an explanation of the interconnectivity between the moral status of the fetus and the moral status of abortion--that is, whether abortion is morally permissible or not. He argues that since allotting moral standing to a being affects the rights that we give to it, we cannot understand the morality or immorality of abortion without first determining whether or not the fetus has moral standing (Sumner 1992, p. 33). As a result, Sumner attempts to determine if and when the fetus has moral standing and the conditions that will determine this. Before he dives into this endeavour however, he first outlines the "established" views on abortion, including how they are similar, how they are different, and ultimately, why they are both flawed.
According to Sumner, the established views on abortion are the liberal/pro-choice view and the conservative/pro-life view. The former is characterized by the belief that the fetus has no moral standing as long as it is a fetus, that is, until birth. In contrast, the latter believes that the fetus has moral standing at every stage of pregnancy, that is, from the moment of conception (Sumner 1992, p. 34). As a result of their opposing conceptions of the moral status of the fetus, the pro-choice position
By
Sarah Landau on March 29, 2008 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
In, "Abortion: A Moderate View", L.W. Sumner outlines what he calls the "established" views on abortion. He follows by arguing for what he calls a "moderate" view. This essay will provide both an explanation of Sumner's philosophical position and a critical evaluation of that position. In addition to the above, Sumner's position will be juxtaposed against that of Mary Anne Warren and Donald Marquis' positions on the moral and legal status of the fetus and abortion.
Exposition
Sumner begins his article with an explanation of the interconnectivity between the moral status of the fetus and the moral status of abortion--that is, whether abortion is morally permissible or not. He argues that since allotting moral standing to a being affects the rights that we give to it, we cannot understand the morality or immorality of abortion without first determining whether or not the fetus has moral standing (Sumner 1992, p. 33). As a result, Sumner attempts to determine if and when the fetus has moral standing and the conditions that will determine this. Before he dives into this endeavour however, he first outlines the "established" views on abortion, including how they are similar, how they are different, and ultimately, why they are both flawed.
According to Sumner, the established views on abortion are the liberal/pro-choice view and the conservative/pro-life view. The former is characterized by the belief that the fetus has no moral standing as long as it is a fetus, that is, until birth. In contrast, the latter believes that the fetus has moral standing at every stage of pregnancy, that is, from the moment of conception (Sumner 1992, p. 34). As a result of their opposing conceptions of the moral status of the fetus, the pro-choice position