abortion

• What is the sanctity of life?

  • Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred
  • Everyone has a right to life, should be protected and valued
  • Each person is unique because God made them
  • Creation of humans is different compared to the rest of creation - imago dei
• What did St Catherine of Siena say in her dialogue?

  • humans come from God the same way a mirror shows a reflection of you
  • God creates out of "love"
  • the fact that humans are made with dignity and in God's image shows how much God loves them
• #1 Catholic argument against abortion:

  Argument:

  • Life begins at conception
  • it has the same rights as a fully functioning human
  • and killing it would go against "do not murder" in Ten Commandments

  EVAL WEAK:

  • the baby does not become sentient straight away
  • not a fully functioning person at conception, cannot feel pain or pleasure
  • abortion not wrong, not killing a fully-functioning human
• #2 Catholic argument against abortion

  Argument:

  • God intimately forms each person in the womb before they are born
  • Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you"
  • God made humans imago dei, therefore life is sacred
  • Only God should be able to take and give away life

  EVAL WEAK:

  • heavily influenced by teachings in the Bible, not evidence-based reasoning
  • the mother should be able to decide what happens to her body
• #1 Humanist argument for abortion


  Argument:

  • pro-choice -> mother's choice what to do with her body
  • foetus does not qualify for personhood, it does not have to ability to choose (autonomy)
  • has no rights that supersedes the mother's

  EVAL STRONG:

  • does not disregard the mother's ability to choose what happens to her body
  • for example, if she was raped, it is morally wrong for her to be forced to continue the pregnancy
  • she has rights that should be prioritised over an unborn foetus
• #2 Humanist argument for abortion

  Argument 2:

  • humanists value the quality of life of the foetus
  • including physical and mental wellbeing and flourishing of the individual
  • the child may have a bad quality of life, which is not morally right

  EVAL WEAK:

  • ignores that the child can still have an important and meaningful life
  • can make a difference in the world
  • stops their potential to live a life that can benefit others
• What does Peter Singer argue?

  all living beings should be treated equally
• What is speciesism?

  the idea that humans have greater moral rights than other living beings, based simply on the fact that they are human.
• What is abortion?

  The deliberate termination of a foetus