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When engaging in culturally and ethically controversial topics like abortion, I have found that most people latch onto a specific idea and use it to counter every argument offered against their view.   For example, one in favor of abortion might be unwilling to question the “fact” that a woman has a right to her own body, (which means that a fetus has no such rights).   On the other hand, one who is against abortion might be unwilling to go beyond the claim that abortion is simply murder.   It may well be that abortion is murder, but the debate will not be won by simply asserting that such is the case.   The reason for much of the confusion on the issue is our human tendency to accept or reject basic moral principles without adequate examination.   Failure to conduct such an examination means that we improperly accept or reject principles that ultimately determine the direction of life.

Laymen are not alone in holding unexamined and untested positions.   Scholars do it particularly well.   Unfortunately, shoddy thinking abounds in scholarly literature on abortion.   Rather than helping to clarify the matter, it appears that “scholarship” only muddies the water in too many cases.   It is the purpose of this article to look in a critical fashion at a few contemporary attempts to express views on the abortion matter.   My goal is to point out the inadequacies of these treatments as a sample of the kind of reasoning that is being used in our situation to defend the varying sides of this question.   My primary concern is to show that the most important questions are usually not seriously contemplated or expressed.   Without such a clear presentation, it is possible for both ethicists and common people to go on holding positions without understanding the clear implications that follow from whatever position one chooses to adopt.


Focus on “Persons”

                   

          In an article entitled, “The Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,”[1] Mary Anne Warren...

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