Exam 12: Abortion

Write an essay discussing whether you think a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. Be sure to address Thomson's comments on this topic. Given your view, what conclusions should we draw about the moral status of abortion? Warren's "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" Multiple Choice Questions

In the case of the violinist, Thomson thinks

Premise 1 of the Argument from Potential relies on the following general principle:

Thomson claims that no one has the right to the use of your body unless

Talk about: -Cesarean section

According to the text, what is one problem with arguing that abortion is wrong because fetuses are innocent human beings?

Talk about: -Viability

Case Study Jessica is a 19-year-old freshman in college. She and her boyfriend are sexually active, and while they almost always use condoms, they have had unprotected sex a few times when a condom was not handy. Jessica discovers that she is pregnant. She tells her boyfriend and he agrees that he will help raise the child if that is what she wants. However, he is also supportive of her decision to get an abortion if she feels it is best. Jessica considers her options. She is a dedicated student with clear career goals that will require a lot of hard work and focus. While she has a moderate amount of money in her savings account, she knows she could not afford to raise a baby while remaining enrolled in college full time. Jessica expects that she may experience some judgement from her family and peers if she becomes a mother now, but she does not know exactly how that will affect her life. The one thing Jessica knows for sure is that she does not want to be a murderer. Jessica's has a deeply felt moral commitment that taking an innocent human life is a deep moral wrong. She decides that she will get an abortion only if she can be sure that terminating her pregnancy does not violate that deeply felt moral commitment. -Is there anything about Jessica's life circumstances that makes it more or less justifiable for her to get an abortion?

Which of the following is not one of the distinctions about the humanity of fetuses discussed by Noonan?

According to Warren, the moral right to obtain an abortion is _______ dependent on the extent to which the woman is responsible for her pregnancy.

Talk about: -Zygote

Noonan argues that the appeal to probabilities shows

According to the psychological view of humanity, a human being is a(n)