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Summary Of Mary Anne Warren On The Moral And Legal Status Of Abortion

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Trysten Lay, Mr. C.D. Writing 121 20 May 2024 The Topic of Abortion In the United States, the topic of Abortion divides all people of different values, beliefs and religion. Regarding abortion, the line that separates us most is commonly found in whether or not the fetus is just a clump of cells, an actual life, or both. I believe that even if a fetus is just a clump of cells, it is still wrong to have an abortion. The first source defending my argument is by Mary Anne Warren, in her article “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion’’. She engages with this argument by covering an essential portion of the pro-choice argument. In Mary’s view, “that, while it is not possible to produce a satisfactory defense of a woman's right to obtain an abortion without showing …show more content…

By focusing on the woman, David overlooks the deeper problem of the conclusion of the child's life. This is a crucial weakness to their argument because he fails to address the main point of an abortion, which is the ending of the baby, and solely focuses on how the woman has a right to privacy. As argued earlier, this value tips the scale of importance because it is a child or the process of becoming a child. In summation, even though David Boonin has merit, it is not enough to override the core of my argument that abortion is murder. In the end, abortions are easily accessible almost everywhere. As a result, thousands of lives are being lost every day due to the act of abortion. Through Biblical Scripture, when a fetus enters personhood, moral, and the legal status of abortion, we will be better equipped to address this issue. Success can only be undertaken if we take a stand and peacefully protest for the right to life. Hence, I believe that even if a fetus is just a clump of cells, it is still wrong to have an

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The author’s purpose was to challenge the fact that there really wasn’t a human side to abortion, just feminist lawyers pushing their agenda. Norma McCorvey, author, filed a case known in court documents as Jane ROE against Henry WADE, the district attorney of Dallas County who enforced a Texas law that prohibited abortion, except to save a woman 's life. The ruling allowed for legal abortions during the entire pregnancy, but set up conditions to allow states to regulate abortion during the second and third trimesters. The Court held that a woman 's right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. This information will be effective in my debate since, because of this case, the decision gave a

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A fetus is also a life. All lives are equal and a fetus also has the right to live. It is inhumane to deprive a life’s basic rights. It is even immoral to kill animals that have human characteristics,

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Analysis Perhaps the most popular argument made against abortion is that the fetus is a person. Based on this assertion, the fetus has a moral right to life. The problem that Thomson identifies is that most of the anti-abortionist and pro-life supporters rely solely on this aspect for their argument and do not rationalize any other matter.

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This case has managed for abortion to become a hot topic in America. Throughout her paper, Judith Jarvis Thomson presents an argument that describes why abortion is moral. The purpose of Thomson’s argument is to dictate to the reader that a fetus is a creature that does have rights, however, a fetus does not have the right to a mother’s body; therefore abortion is permissible in a way does not hurt a creature not being born yet, and that a mother has the right to determine what is happening to and as well as within her

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Even today, there are many moral and philosophical issues that divide the United States because they create very polarized opinions and beliefs. One such philosophical issue is the moral permissibility of infanticide. Mary Anne Warren, a philosopher, presents her liberal yet controversial views on the issue of infanticide in the postscript of her article, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion. However, the anti-infanticide arguments pose problems for Warren’s position because they justify the immorality of infanticide through the physical similarity in resemblance of neonates to human beings. These arguments also claim that the destruction of a viable infant is needless because even if the infant’s biological parents reject the infant, there are many other parents who are willing to adopt and nurture that infant.

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I agree with Ridge because it is not right for people to only focus on those children that are born. People should focus on both because it should not matter if the baby is still in the womb, it is a human already.

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This baby that is growing in the mother's body will become a child and then an adult and could have the most amazing life. That child could end up being super successful and loving their life, and that will never happen to those 1.2 million babies aborted each year. Also, just because it is the mother's body and she has the right to do what she wants, doesn’t mean that the baby growing inside of her doesn’t have the right to live, because everyone has the right to live, including those unborn children. (Why Abortion Is Bad for America - ProQuest). In addition to this argument, pro-choice activists that say that the unborn child is not living, nor is the fetus a personareis incorrect.

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This same way of thinking means that a fetus has no choice or ability to make decision when it comes to whose womb they inhabit as a result of failed contraception. Again, I am not arguing that abortion would not be morally permissible in the case of failed contraception but I am saying that there are key differences in intent and rational capacities between a malicious burglar and an unknowing fetus that weaken this analogy. Thomson also says that a burglar who breaks in should not have a right to stay in your house. While this is true, there are very few cases where a burglar will stay in your house if there intent is to steal something and get away. Staying in the house would be irrational if they want to get away with the crime.

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Mary Anne Warren’s argument for the moral permissibility of abortion concentrates on the question of personhood and humanity with reference to a common anti-abortion argument and the discussion of potential personhood. Her argument builds on the belief that fetuses are not human beings and considers humanity through certain categories one must have in order to be considered a human person. Warren’s argument is logical, however, her argument is unsound because of a series of erroneous premises. Thus, because these premises are erroneous, an Aristotelian-type argument can be constructed that properly discusses potential persons and argues against Warren, thus aruging for the moral impermissibility of abortion.

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In “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Thomson argues with a unique approach regarding the topic of abortion. For the purpose of the argument, Thomas agrees to go against her belief and constructs an argument based on the idea that the fetus is a person at conception. She then formulates her arguments concerning that the right to life is not an absolute right. There are certain situations where abortion is morally permissible. She believes that the fetus’s right to life does not outweigh the right for the woman to control what happens to her own body.

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In this paper, I will review Mary Anne Warren’s stance on the morality of abortion and provide my objection to her view that a fetus is not a human on the basis that a fetus does not contain the characteristics, generated by Warren, to be considered a Homo sapien; therefore, warranting abortion morally acceptable. The basis of my argument against abortion is on the premise that a fetus, by the Law of Nature, is to be protected and preserved since it is considered innocent and a human being, based on the idea that a human being is something bodily and physical, an individual and a being in time (Iglesias). Mary Anne Warren defines abortion as the deliberate action to remove a fetus from a human female’s womb per her request resulting in the death of the fetus (Warren 307). By identifying what is meant by abortion before furthering her argument, Warren clearly identifies the topic of her argument so that there be no confusion.

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By challenging the widely held premise that a fetus, considered a human being from conception, possesses an absolute and unassailable right to life, Thomson invites readers to reconsider their perspectives on this divisive issue. This analysis will delve into the intricacies of her argument, examining key premises, the ultimate conclusion, and evaluating the validity and soundness of Thomson's rationale. Premises: The Fetus as a Person: Thomson begins by acknowledging the prevalent belief that every person possesses an inherent right to life. However, she adopts, for the sake of argument, the assumption that a fetus is a person, setting the foundation for a nuanced examination of the implications of this right. The pervasive belief in the absolute right to life for a fetus becomes a focal point of Thomson's scrutiny.

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However, on the other hand, Bonnie Steinbock in her article “Most Abortions Are Morally Legitimate”, she says that abortions and morally acceptable because fetuses are not living beings, hence they are unconscious and don’t have any moral status because they are unaware about their interests and doesn’t feel pain or anything. She says fetuses does not have any human being rights and it depends on the mother what she wants for her body and she has all the rights to decide whether she wants to be pregnant or not because she is a living being.

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Mary Anne Warren establishes a belief that a fetus’s right to live is overruled by an expecting mother’s right to an abortion because it is not a technically a true person until it is born. Warren supports her argument by saying that a nearly full-developed fetus is no more significant than a small embryo because “…it is not fully conscious… it cannot reason or communicate message… and has no self-awareness” (Warren, page 499). In contrast, our text states that “…some fetuses develop the capacity to survive outside the womb…” after nearly being two-thirds fully developed; this means that a fetus is ultimately capable of communication and awareness through it’s movements (Munson and Lague, page 469).

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Mary Anne Warren is a well-known American philosopher who has influenced the argument of the controversial issue, abortion. Today, I will be supporting Warren’s belief and theory on abortion solely being the woman’s choice and will do so by refuting other theories and philosophers including; John T Noonan, Judith Thompson, and Don Marquis. John T. Noonan revolves his argument of abortion around the idea of conception. According to Noonan, abortion is morally wrong because a being comes into existence at the point of conception. Also, being conceived by human parents automatically classifies the fetus as a human as well.

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