Abortion as a Slippery Slope

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer offers a pro-life argument, but the paper does not wrangle over at what point the fetus becomes a human being. THe writer stresses that this is a material question, and that a material question cannot determine a moral argument. A moral argument must be forward looking, and must eschew the backward looking mode of investigating facts. The writer maintains that a forward looking argument must abide by the Kantian criterion of duty. It must aim for the universal good rather than pay heed to individual preference. The pro-choice stance does not meet the demands of the categorical imperative. The writer argues that it is obviously a step on the slippery slope, for there is no limit to individual preference.

From the Paper:

"Every debate must be guided by morality and justice. The pro-choice argument seems to be, at first sight, not without a moral basis. It is a morality that bases itself in individualism and utilitarianism. The woman is said to have the right to control her own body, and the unborn fetus is claimed to be yet a part of the mother's body, and not yet a distinct human being. In this way, it is argued, she has the right to terminate the life of the fetus, which constitutes abortion. Against this the usual pro-life argument holds the line that the fetus is not only a part of the mother's body, and that it is indeed a distinct human being. This paper argues that it is a mistake to engage the pro-choice believer in a materialistic argument, and that he cannot be won over in this manner. The resolution must be only through a moral argument, and in this light it stresses the Kantian concept of duty. Kant gives us the categorical imperative by which to test the moral content of an act, and I will employ this test to show that the pro-choice argument is flawed, and that an act of abortion can in no way be seen as being moral. Indeed it must be classed as immoral, because it is really doing nothing, and is allowing animal instinct to rule human behavior. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hare, R. M. "Abortion and the Golden Rule." Philosophy and Public Affairs. 4.3 (Spring, 1975). pp. 201-222.
• Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Translated by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott. New York: Broadview Press, 2005.
• Lockhart, Ted. Moral Uncertainty and Its Consequences. New York: Oxford University Press US, 2000.
• Luker, Kristin. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
• MariAnna, Cara J. Abortion: A Collective Story. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.

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