[Vision2020] A Woman's Right to Choose (where she shops) Hangs inthe Balance

joekc at adelphia.net joekc at adelphia.net
Wed Jan 18 14:50:33 PST 2006


Today I asked this question in my undergraduate seminar on Action, Ethics, and Responsibility:

Is the disagreement about abortion primarily a disagreement about moral claims or a disagreement about metaphysical claims (one with ethical implications, no doubt)? 

We all agree -- I think -- that innocent persons should not be needlessly put to death. Isn't one primary disagreement in the abortion debate about what it means to be a person, which is a metaphysical disagreement? (I'm not trying to diminish the claim but to locate it.)

Best, Joe

---- J Ford <privatejf32 at hotmail.com> wrote: 
> Just for the sake of clarification ONLY, what does this mean:
> 
> 
> " I find it interesting that you  believe so much in a woman's right to 
> choose to abort a fetus, OR ANOTHER DEVELOPING HUMAN..."
> 
> 
> J  :]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >From: Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
> >To: Nick Gier <ngier at uidaho.edu>, vision2020 at moscow.com
> >Subject: Re: [Vision2020] A Woman's Right to Choose (where she shops) Hangs 
> >inthe Balance
> >Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:18:15 -0800 (PST)
> >
> >Nick,
> >
> >  I find it interesting that you  believe so much in a woman's right to 
> >choose to abort a fetus, or  another developing human, but yet at the same 
> >time oppose her right to  shop at a store of her choosing, like Wal-Mart.
> >
> >   It just seems ironic, doesn't it?
> >
> >   Mind you, I am opposed to legally preventing abortion. But if I had to  
> >prioritize limiting a women's right to choice, it would be to limit her  
> >options to a kill a developing human being over that of where she buys  
> >hamburger buns.
> >
> >   Thoughts?
> >
> >   -DJA
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Nick Gier <ngier at uidaho.edu> wrote:    Greetings:
> >
> >   Before this goes out to the usual venues, I wanted Visionaries to have  
> >a first read if they wish.  If you find typos or more substantial  points 
> >to debate, let me know.  I'm glad that I can spell that  last phrase better 
> >than Doug Farris.
> >
> >   A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE HANGS IN THE  BALANCE
> >
> >   By Nick Gier
> >
> >
> >           During  his confirmation hearings many Americans were relieved 
> >to hear that  John Roberts believes that the Constitution contains a right 
> >to  privacy.  He also considers Roe vs. Wade to be “settled  law.”  In 
> >recent hearings to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the  Supreme Court, 
> >Samuel Alito agreed with Roberts on the first point but  not on the second.
> >
> >  O’Connor is the author of the significant  proviso “no undue burden,” 
> >which limits the state’s power to restrict a  woman’s right to choose.  In 
> >one decision O’Connor ruled that it  was indeed an “undue burden” that a 
> >woman must get her husband’s  permission to have an abortion.  In a dissent 
> >in the 3rd  District Court of Appeals Judge Alito argued that any state has 
> >a right  to require a woman to do just that.
> >
> >   A right of privacy is not specifically granted in the Constitution, but  
> >it is strongly implied therein.  Americans have an inalienable  right to 
> >hold their own beliefs, to act according to the dictates of  their own 
> >consciences, and the “right . . . to be secure in their  persons, houses, 
> >papers, and effects. . . ” (4th Amendment). The right  of privacy follows 
> >from the basic American belief that people are  autonomous beings, which 
> >means that they have a right to determine  their own lives without 
> >government interference.
> >
> >  During the  Alito hearings there was grandstanding from both sides of the 
> >aisle,  but the worst offender was Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.  Coburn  
> >repeatedly said that the science of fetal development should compel the  
> >Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. To bolster his  argument Coburn 
> >added he had delivered 4,000 babies in his career as an  obstetrician.
> >
> >   I’ve taught over 6,000 students and I hope that they have better  
> >reasoning skills than the good senator.  Coburn stated that the  early 
> >fetus has brain waves and a heart beat, but animal fetuses have  these as 
> >well.  What makes humans morally and legally different  from animals is 
> >that they are persons, not just biological  entities.
> >
> >  Our moral, religious, and legal tradition has  held that persons are 
> >rational beings, who are able to determine their  own lives significantly 
> >different from the ways they guide their  children or control their 
> >animals.  Several footnotes to Roe vs. Wade  reference this long tradition, 
> >and I believe that the justices had  sufficient reason to rule that the 
> >early fetus is not a person.
> >
> >   At the beginning of the third trimester, the fetal brain undergoes  
> >explosive brain development. At 25 weeks the brain cells are very  poorly 
> >connected and the neocortex, the center of higher brain  function, is 
> >undeveloped.  At 33 weeks those same cells have  thousands of connections 
> >and the neocortex has the six layers of the  mature brain.
> >
> >  This brain is significantly different  from most animal brains, which can 
> >form the physical basis for  protecting the legal rights of a “beginning 
> >person,” a being with a  serious moral right to life.  This argument is far 
> >superior to  fetal viability, a criterion that, as Senator Coburn pointed 
> >out, is  vulnerable to technological advances in preserving the lives of  
> >premature fetuses. Fetal brain development will not change except for  
> >major and immoral genetic engineering.
> >
> >  My argument gives  expectant mothers the same six months’ freedom from 
> >state interference  but with a stronger legal foundation. The is also a 
> >nice logical  symmetry between starting a person's life at this point and 
> >then  legally ending it when the brain no longer functions. It’s also  
> >imperative to note that 88 percent of all American abortions occur  within 
> >13 weeks of conception, long before any major elements of a  person's life 
> >develops.
> >
> >  Anti-abortionists claim that abortion  causes health problems for women 
> >who submit to them.  These same  people, however, do very little to support 
> >the social services and  accurate information that would make abortions 
> >safer, earlier, and  rarer, as is the case in most other industrialized 
> >countries.  For  example, in Belgium and the Netherlands there are 7 
> >abortions per 1,000  women as opposed to 23 per 1,000 in the U.S.
> >
> >  The most  horrendous effects on female health are found in countries that 
> >do not  allow reproductive freedom, and the Bush administration’s 
> >restrictions  on family planning in foreign aid are making this problem 
> >worse.   With a little over half the population, Brazilian women have more  
> >abortions than American women do. Eastern Europe has the highest rate  in 
> >the world: a staggering 90 unsafe abortions per 1,000 women.   Generally 
> >speaking, the rate of abortion appears to be directly  proportional to the 
> >restrictions placed on sex education and  reproductive freedom.
> >
> >   As we acknowledge the  33rd  anniversary of Roe vs. Wade  on January 22, 
> >we should heed the heed the results of a recent Harris  Poll: 70 percent 
> >said that they would oppose Alito if he intends to  overturn this landmark 
> >decision. The choice for America is clear.   We can continue to protect a 
> >woman’s right to determine her own life,  or we can deny her this right and 
> >force her to face unhealthy and  sometimes deadly alternatives to safe, 
> >legal abortions.
> >
> >   Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for  
> >31 years.  For more on the topic see  
> >www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/abortion.htm.
> >
> >   _____________________________________________________
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> >
> >
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