Abortion and the human animal.
I discuss three topics. First, there is a philosophical connecting thread between several recent trends in the abortion discussion, namely, the issue of our animal nature, and physical embodiment. The philosophical name given to the position that you and I are essentially human animals is "animalism." In Section II of this paper, I argue that animalism provides a unifying theme to recent discussions of abortion. In Section III, I discuss what we do not find among recent trends in the abortion discussion, namely "the right to privacy." I suggest some reasons why the right to privacy is conspicuous by its absence. Finally, I address Patrick Lee's claim that the evil of abortion involves "the moral deterioration that the act brings to those who are complicit in it, and to the culture that fosters it."
Tollefsen
Christopher
C
Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. tollefsen@sc.edu
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics*; D033421:Beginning of Human Life; D002835:Christianity; D033041:Embryo Research / Q000941:ethics*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005333:Fetus; D040821:Human Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D028723:Personhood; D010684:Philosophy; D018907:Privacy; D026712:Value of Life; D015053:Zygote