Beginning of life

• what are some of the issues raised by abortion

  - rights of the foetus and the mother

  - personhood/status of the foetus

  - quality of life vs sanctity of life

  - pro life vs pro choice
• what does the law say about abortion in the UK

  1861 Offences Against the Person Act:

  states that causing a miscarriage is a criminal act

  1929 Infant Preservation Act:

  allowed a termination if it preserved the life of the mother

  1967 Abortion Act:

  legalised abortion (in Scotland, England and Wales. Northern Ireland legalised abortion in 2019)
• what are the conditions needed to get an abortion in the UK

  - must be permitted by 2 doctors

  - can only be up to 24 weeks (although in 1990 modifications took place which meant a disabled child could be aborted up to full term)

  - conditions such as: the woman's physical health is at risk and existing children would be harmed by the woman continuing with the pregnancy have to be met
• what is the law in the US on abortion

  Roe vs. Wade 1973
• what are the 2 types of abortion

  medical - taking a pill leading to heavy menstruation

  surgical - the embryo is suctioned out during a surgical operation
• what are the Christian views on abortion (9)

  - sanctity of life arguments: life is a gift from God and each person has a soul made in the image of God

  - Bible: Genesis ('go forth and multiply') and Exodus ('do not commit murder')

  - only God has authority to give and take life

  - RCC: abortion is against natural law (breaks precept to live and protect innocent) and foetus has 'personhood' status from moment of conception

  - liberal Christians - allow abortion in certain circumstances (e.g. rape, incest, disability)

  - double effect theory - used to justify abortion in cases such as ectopic pregnancies where the mother's life is at risk

  - situation ethics: personalism and relativism

  - Quiverfull (instruction to have children and not use contraception)

  - Aquinas: ensoulment occurs at 40 days for boys and 90 days for girls so causing a miscarriage prior isn't murder
• what's Judith Thomson's argument

  - there is a point when a foetus is not a person (like an acorn isn't an oak tree). there are stages to development

  - a woman owns her body, and the foetus' rights aren't equal to the mother's as the foetus is only using the mother's body

  - therefore abortion is a matter of self-defence as the foetus threatens the mother and poses an enormous strain on her body
• what is Thomson's analogy


  the violinist analogy:

  You wake up to find you're body has been plugged into the body of an unconscious violinist, so that your kidneys can work for both of you. You're told the treatment will only last nine months, and if you unplug yourself he will die
• what is Christine Overall's argument

  - the mother's genetic relationship to the foetus makes her the most appropriate person to decide on its best interests

  - making a woman keep a foetus is like compelling her to give away an organ against her will

  - removing a woman's right to decide means treating women as being incapable of deciding on their own reproductive status
• what are some of the differing views on personhood

  - ensoulment at conception: suppored by vitalists, e.g. RCC and conservative Christians who believe abortion is always murder

  - delayed ensoulment: e.g. Aquinas

  - Jonathan Glover: to call a fertilised egg a 'person' is stretching the boundaries of what a person is

  - Mary Ann Warren: birth is the beginning of personhood and true moral status

  - Singer: sentience (the ability to rationalize/express preferences/suffer) is when personhood beings

  - RM Hare: having preferences and being able to exercise them is a good criteria for personhood and assigning moral status
• explain Singer's views on personhood

  - if having and being able to express preferences is the indicator of having interests and moral status, some people should be excluded from personhood and denied full moral status whereas some animals should be awarded personhood

  - to make a distinction between animals and humans on the basis of DNA and not ability is speciest
• what are some feminist views on abortion


  - argue women have historically been suppressed by the patriarchy and the role of the Church with their emphasis on motherhood

  - in the 60s and 70s there was a rise in contraception and more employment opportunities leading to more equal rights

  - Mary Ann Warren; it's a human right for a woman to be able to have a safe abortion and it's better for society overall. to deny a woman this is morally wrong

  - illegal abortions kill 200,000 women year
• what is IVF and artificial insemination

  IVF - eggs and sperm are retrieved from a couple, fertilised in a lab and placed back in the female

  AI - used for male infertility
• what are the key issues with IVF

  - healthiest embryos selected and unused frozen embryos are destroyed or tested for specific genetic disorders

  - who should pay for IVF

  - who should have access to IVF
• what is the law on IVF in the UK

  - legalised in 1990 with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act for those age 23-42.

  - 2-3 cycles can be accessed on the NHS

  - private IVF costs around £14,000 per cycle
• what are the rights you have if you donate sperm

  you will not:

  - be the legal parent of any child born or have any legal obligation to them

  - have any rights on the upbringing of the child

  - have to support them financially

  - be named on the birth certificate

  if you use an unlicensed clinic, you will be the legal father
• explain rights associated with egg donation

  - if you give birth to a child, you're considered the legal mother even if using a donated egg

  - only egg/sperm provider has legal rights over storage or use of their egg/sperm

  - from 2022 all patients can store eggs, sperm and embryos for up to 55 years (for their own treatment)
• what are the absolutist Christian views on IVF

  - RCC: opposes IVF as the embryo is considered a person, and the procedures and storage are contrary to the dignity of the embryo

  - condemns playing God (conception of child outside of sex)

  - IVF undermines marriage and natural process of reproduction. means that purpose of sex is no longer for reproduction

  - donors is an infringement of the fidelity of marriage

  - all spare embryos are 'potential for life'

  - breaks 'to live in ordered society' as child isn't aware of origins
• what are the liberal Christian views on IVF

  - CofE: don't say when personhood begins. the embryo doesn't have the same status as a baby that's born (although they're still sympathetic). wide variety of views on IVF advice

  - Paul Ramsay (Christian philosopher): objects to IVF by donor on the basis that it denies the unity of love, and raises concerns about health risks of IVF to future babies

  - Fletcher: doesn't see IVF or AI as a problem, but sees it as a good thing that humans can compassionately help create other humans (4 working principles, agape)
• what are the arguments for genetic experimentation

  - humans have brains to use and a duty to do what we can with them

  - aim to reduce suffering and increase wellbeing so in line with respect for life

  - can calculate and minimise risks

  - correcting defects, minimising suffering and increasing happiness is our moral and social duty (transhumanism), although some argue this could lead to a slippery slope

  - Singer
• what are arguments against genetic experimentation

  - don't play God

  - sanctity of life and respect for God's creation

  - precautionary principle (don't do something when you can't control or quantify risks)

  - diversity is good

  - cost is massive and money would reduce suffering more widely if spent elsewhere (Bentham)

  - Kant: GE couldn't be universalised and is inconsistent with treating people as ends. positive duty we have to help cannot outweigh negative duty to not cause harm
• what is embryo research and what can it be used for

  - can potentially be used to find cures for serious illnesses using tissue cells from embryos, e.g. Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's

  - HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) grants licenses for embryo research in the following areas: fertility treatment, knowledge or congenital disease and miscarriages, developing conception techniques and effective contraception
• what are the key issues and views around embryo research

  - is the embryo a person/potential person and does it have status/moral rights

  - Singer: for 14 days after fertilisation an embryo is not a human as it can be split into 2. if you accept an embryo as a potential person you must also accept the sperm and egg as potential persons

  - humanists: embryo is not a person but has capacity to be one. in early stages, there's no brain or self-awareness

  - RCC: embryo has rights from moment of conception

  - cord blood is an alternative to embryo research as it's rich in stem cells, which is accepted as valuable by the RCC
• what are the utilitarian views

  - act utility: relativist, assessing pain vs pleasure (quality of life)

  - preference: Singer doesn't consider foetus to have rights/intrinsic value until it's sentient

  - rule: allowing IVF and ER may harm society (key aspects are freedom and no harm)
• what are the deontological views


  - Kant's work based on rational human beings not potential rational beings, so embryos could potentially be used as a means to and end

  - but if Kant recognised the 'potentiality of rationality' a different intepretation could be given
• what are the virtue ethics views

  - Aristotle would consider potential for eudaimonia and also the mother's potential to flourish if she should/shouldn't have the child
• what are the situation ethics views

  - weak sanctity of life argument

  - personalist approach: abortion will be most loving thing to do in some circumstances (relativist)
• what are the Buddhist views

  - consciousness begins at conception as a human life moves from one life to the next so full human life begins at conception (stated in Vinaya)

  - Ahimsa; forbidden to deliberately end a human life

  - monks and nuns forbidden to participate in abortion; can lead to explusion from Sangha

  - however Mahayana allows abortion in certain circumstances as an act of compassion

  - those who abort aren't in a good state of mind so they'll get negative karma

  - not opposed to IVF but are opposed to frozen embryos which are discarded/used for research

  - Damien Keown: 'since when has the Buddha advocated the killing of one being to benefit others