PHIL 380 Test 3: Abortion & Presentational Ethics ALL SOLUTION 100% CORRECT SPRING FALL-2023/24 EDITION GUARANTEED GRADE A+

Right to Privacy Argument every person has an absolute right to privacy concerning what to do with their own body. Established in 1964 Griswold vs. Connecticut, part of the penumbra of the Constitution Non-Personhood Argument The duty to do no harm applies only to human persons. The unborn fetus, especially in the first and second trimester, has not achieved the status of being a person. Sanctity of Life Argument Life is a gift and has value in and of itself. To take an innocent life is murder Moral Status The obligation to treat another being in a morally appropriate way o Moral principles, especially non-maleficence, apply in some degree towards that being -Some beings have no moral status at all. E.g. a pen, a rock, you can’t harm or hurt them · Many beings have moral status in some degree: o So… moral status is not an all or nothing concept; there is a continuum of moral status o Generally agreed that life gives something moral status once there’s life, there’s some degree of moral status. o Traditionally, a being’s degree of moral status has correlated with its level of life form. E.g. we’re not concerned with the moral status of an amoeba or a mosquito. Highest life form: human being Human Organism A biological/genetic concept, a member of a human species. Person A living being that has the inherent essential capacity for rational thought, emotional expression, willful direction, and moral reflection concerning him/herself and the world around him/her. A psychological/philosophical concept Basic Inherent Capacity · Basic: basis for all other capacities o First order capacity: The immediate ability to perform an action or function in a certain way e.g. ability to speak English o Second order capacity: A fundamental ability to perform actions or functions that is the basis for first order capacities. You have an ability to learn a different language, etc. · “Inherent” – a capacity a thing possesses by nature of the kind of thing it is “Capacity” – the natural ability to function a certain way that may or may not ever be actualized. Human Being combines a human organism + person. 1st Capacities The immediate ability to perform an action or function in a certain way e.g. ability to speak English 2nd order capacity A fundamental ability to perform actions or functions that is the basis for first order capacities. You have an ability to learn a different language, etc. Substance View of personhood a person is an entity that has personhood by nature of the kind of being it is. This nature encompasses certain basic inherent capacities to function certain ways, though such capacities may never be actualized. Agnostic View of Abortion Since no one really knows when personhood begins, we should not entertain the question. Therefore, except for other possible ethical issues in a given situation, abortion is justifiable. · Arrogant to say: no one knows · 8 billion people in the world; how do you know what they do/don’t know? · We’re not going to entertain the question—why not? We can still talk about it. · How can you justify something you don’t know anything about? Decisive Moment Theory There exists a precise moment in the life of a human being when they begin to exist, when personhood and organism are joined Conception, implantation, brain development, appearance of humanness, attainment of sentience, quickening, viability, birth Sentience ability to feel Quickening First time when mother feels baby · First time someone can prove unborn was alive before modern medicine Viability The point when the fetus is able to live on its own outside the special environment of the mothers womb. Estimated to be 20-24 weeks. Gradualism There is no one specific moment when personhood begins, it is a gradual plane. In the beginning (conception) there is no real person and by the end (birth) there is a real person. The unborn then gains moral rights as it develops. - It's impossible to draw a line. -The unborn close to birth seems very much like the rest of us, where the zygote doesn't. Functional View a person is an entity that functions according to a set of acquired properties: consciousness, ability to reason, self-awareness, etc. (you can be a person and not function as one, e.g. when sleeping, under anesthesia, in a coma Continuum of Identity Because of the BIC we keep the same identity through time. The same person who was conceived and was a zygote is the same "self" that will be an adult. (argument that fetus is a person from conception) Continuum of Essential Structure the essential structure for the BIC to function as a person is present at the moment of conception and develops in various forms until death. Continuum of Capacities The second order BIC is the basis for all the other first order capacities needed in order to function as a person. I have present capacities to function as a person: reason, moral reflection, etc. But these are all based on the basic capacity I have had from conception. Procreation emphasizing the partnership between man and Creator in bringing forth life Artificial Insemination Fairly simple procedure that uses a syringe attached to a catheter inserted through the cervix to inject sperm into the uterus; usually used for men who have fertility issues; however complications can arise if additional factors are added into the process AIH artificial insemination of husband's sperm; least problematic AID Artificial insemination of donors sperm; usually obtained through an anonymous sperm bank, but can be a known person; complicated as it introduces a third party into the process. o Third party involvement: blurs the line in parentage and denies the importance of the biological bond; moves away from procreation and towards the production; should resist use of third party o “Same as adoption?” Adoption is done as an emergency procedure for the sake of a child that already exists and is in need of parenting. Involving third parties from the beginning is not the same thing. GIFT Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer Multiple eggs are obtained from mother and sperm is obtained from husband or donor; they then are placed in close proximity to each other in the fallopian tube and conception takes place through the normal process; useful for both women & men with infertility issues; in general, no moral problems except multiple pregnancies In Vitro Fertilization Eggs are harvested from mother or donor and sperm is obtained from father or donor and conception takes place in a petri dish; conception can just occurnaturally or sperm can be medically injected into egg through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). 2-4 zygotes are then transferred into the uterus or into the fallopian tubes (ZIFT). Two weeks later a pregnancy test is administered to determine if any of the zygotes implanted on the uterine wall. (36-38% succeed in live birth for woman under 35) Cryopreservation Some are preserved for later implantation but many will not be used for that purpose (28% in 2005); What do we do with the leftovers? Leads to experimentation or adoption Genetic surrogate Third party female is contracted and artificially inseminated with husbands sperm and she conceives and carries a child which she gives up to the couple upon birth; child is genetically related to father but not wife; relatively low cost and easy to do; generally not seen as adultery; morally problematic in that it introduces a third party into the procreative process. Common in the beginning, becoming less common Gestational surrogate Third party female has no genetic relationship to the child; she is contracted to provide the womb and carries the child through the pregnancy, but eggs and sperm come from another source: father and mother or donated; IVF is performed for fertilization and embryos are implanted in surrogates womb. She carries the child to term and then turns it over to the couple at birth. Commercial surrogate Fee is paid to surrogate Altruistic surrogate No fee is arranged, Surrogate donates the use of their womb/egg. Prenatal Screening Screening of fetus in utero to determine the presence of genetic abnormalities; 1966 first amniocentesis, now common procedure; over 100 genetic disorders can be discovered from prenatal screening including downs syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, sickle cell anemia, etc. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Screening of embryos conceived through IVF before they are implanted to determine genetic disease and genetic traits Eugenics Improving the human race by gene selection and manipulation. Negative eugenics decreasing of undesirable or harmful genetic traits through sterilization or selective breeding. Positive eugenics enhancing of genes to improve their functioning. Pro-choice arguments for abortion: Bodily rights argument: § Every person has an absolute right to privacy concerning what to do with their own body (Thomson's Argument) CONTINUED...