Abortion is Morally Wrong John T. Noonan Jr.
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Abortion is Morally Wrong
John T. Noonan Jr.
John T. Noonan Jr.
O 1926-1996
O Judge of the Unites States Court of
Appeals for the 9th Circuit
O Strongly opposed abortion rights
When does an entity become a person?
O Noonan argues it is at the moment of
conception
O Theologians considered it “ensoulment”
Argument for Abortion Rights:The fetus is not yet a person; it
is part of the mother, so it is her choice
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O The fetus is not yet a person
OResponse: The potential to
become a person makes the
fetus a person
O The fetus is dependent on the
mother for life, so it is not a person
O Response: Dependency is
irrelevant:
O Children depend on parents after
they are out of the womb
O Viable does not mean
independent
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O Experience: A person has past
experiences and memories and
emotions; fetuses do not have
experiences
O Response: The fetus does
experience things and reacts to
the environment when it is still
in the womb
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O The feeling of losing a fetus is different
from the feelings of losing a child that
has already been born
O Response: Feelings are not a
suitable guide to measure humanity
O Can’t compare the feelings of the
parents who lost a fetus to the
feelings of the parents who lost a
child
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O The fetus cannot be seen or
touched, so it is not a person
O Response: Sight is untrustworthy
O Sight led to racial discrimination
because people saw color of
skin as a valid argument
against humanity
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O The fetus cannot communicate so it is not a member of society
O Response: Humanity does not rely on social recognition
O People have been dehumanized and denied social status before
O In Aphasia, when someone loses their ability to speak, are they no longer a person?
Argument for Abortion Rights:
Other Arguments for Abortion Rights:
O Abortion should not be illegal
because of religion; the
government is secular
O Response: Not about religion,
it’s about morality
Argument for Abortion Rights:
O Aborting a fetus for its own good
O Response: To abort a fetus for
its own good is to say it had a
destiny to begin with, but you
are not giving it a decision
Argument for Abortion Rights:
Arguments Against Abortion Rights:
Probability
O Biological probability
O 80% chance the conception will be successful
O People base their actions and morals off of probabilities – It’s common sense/logical
O Would the argument be different if only 1/10 children conceived came to term, instead of 4/5?
Bush Metaphor
O 200,000,000 to 1 chance that
the thing you are shooting at is
a man won’t be blamed for
shooting
O But if it is an 80% chance
Probably not a good idea
Logic
O Humanizing the fetus
O If you kill something that already
has a genetic code, organs,
sensitivity to pain, and has an
80% chance of become a child
destroying a being
Catholic Theology
O Fetus was always thought of as a
separate entity from its parents, it is
not just a part of the mom
O Fetus = human
O Abortion is only right in self-defense
Morality Argument
OAbortion is selfish because
you are favoring your own
interests more than the life
of another
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