Abortion Is Morally Permissible in Most Cases for which It Occurs

~~~My Main Argument~~~ My main argument is that the relative moral weight of the life of a fetus is less than the moral weight of the mother's right to her own body. I'm assigning right to life moral weight here as the ability to intelligently perceive and appreciate environment. Thus, I'm concluding it is morally permissible for the mother to choose to terminate the fetus in order to exercise her right to her own body. The next paragraph will go into how this intelligence can be roughly defined. Structural development in the cerebral cortex is both measurably acquired and morally relevant. This development in humans allows for voluntary action, and intelligent learning in a way that is morally relevant. This brain development is what makes our lives meaningful in the way we observe the world around us. While there is activity in the cerebral cortex early on, in the last two months it becomes developed enough to arguably become meaningful (1a). The subcortical auditory system is developed enough and in sync with relevant parts of the brain in order for the fetus to learn to recognize tones such as the mother's voice as early as in the last three months (1a). While having preference for voice is a rudimentary form of cognition, even if this early development is used as a criterion, the right to life can be defined at about 27 weeks. If you want a line at when it becomes more questionable, then 32 weeks may be a consideration due to cortex weight gain from the connectivity of neurons (i.e. a result of learning) (1b). Consider this cutoff in mind with the fact that 99% of all abortions happen before the 21st week. Remember that I only need to defend up to around week 9 where 59 % of abortions occur (2) for this argument. I want to point out what is morally relevant here is intelligent perception and as you've read from the above paragraph, I've set a pretty low bar. The bar is so low that B.F. Skinner's pigeons would hit their head on it. In fact I'm saying it is ridiculous for the bar to be any lower. Is killing less than the moral equivalent a pigeon morally permissible in order to not be pregnant for 9 months? I say yes. ~~~Your Responses~~~ Frank: "First of all, whether the abortion happens within the first 21 weeks or not, killing a baby is killing a baby, regardless of when it is done." My Response: It sounds like your implied claim is that the "baby" being killed has the same moral relevance as a "baby" that is born. Age of the "baby" is irrelevant. (I'll use this against you later) I address the moral significance of fetus killing above. Frank: "I'm sorry, most of those girls made the choice to have sex." Having sex is not the same as signing a contract to keep a possible baby even if the risk is known. Also, just over half of mothers having abortions reported having used some form of contraception during the month they got pregnant (2). Frank: " Plus, the last time I checked, having sex under the age of 18 was illegal. If a girl disobeys the law by having sex before 18, she should not be allowed to have an abortion." My Response: You may want to check again. You're going to need to put references next to every claim you make just so I know you're not getting mixed up. The federal age of consent is 16, although for those under the age of 16 a four year discrepancy is afforded before it's illegal (3). You'll find the specific laws vary from state to state. Also, I'm not sure how breaking the law to have sex logically connects to a mandate of no abortion. Frank: "If you do not wish to keep the baby you are going to have, you could put it up for adoption or send it to a foster home. The baby deserves a chance to live, doesn't it." According to my argument at the beginning of this phase my mother's right to her body trumps your baby. ~~~Your Exceptions~~~ Frank: "Honestly, who would want to look a baby and be reminded of the monster that raped her." My Response: Your response here sounds like you're saying abortion is okay in the circumstance of rape because knowing your rape baby is somewhere in the world is upsetting. This is good enough for me, but keep in mind what you concede in order to stay consistent: If all babies have the same moral relevance as in your first claim (the one I said I'd use against you later), then this means you must logically conclude a baby brought to term can be morally killed if it was a rape baby. Further, this means your claim logically concludes that this post birth killing is just as morally justifiable as having an abortion at 5 weeks. Are you sure you are okay with these conclusions? Frank: "Second, if a woman or the baby could die from death, I think an abortion should be allowed." My Response: If you're allowing this exception of relative mortality risk of abortion versus giving birth, you'll have to consider the following: Mother mortality risk from childbirth (4): 200 per 1,000,000 Mortality risk from abortion at (2--Note that I just divided to put everything constant at per 1,000,000 for easy comparison): >8 weeks: 1 per 1,000,000 16-20 weeks: 35 per 1,000,000 >21 weeks 90 per 1,000,000 Inference: It's clear that abortion is mortally safer than childbirth for the mother. Frank: "Finally, if the baby is going to face serious mental or physical defects, an abortion should be allowed. No one would want their baby to suffer." My Response: Does having to go through foster care systems or living in the same home as a parent that didn't want you in the first place count as serious mental suffering? Good luck in your responses. ~~~References~~~ 1. The Oxford companion to the mind, Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004 a, pg. 123-"In the last 3 months of gestation, a fetus has a well developed subcortical auditory system that can hear and learn to recognize the expressive rhythms and tones of the mother's voice." b, pg. 121-"A secondfold increase in bulk of the cortex takes place in the last two months of gestation and continues in to the first few months of infancy. This is due, not to multiplication of cortical neurons, but to their branching and to the formation of the connections that integrate the experience –sensitive cortical tissues with the rest of the brain to make conscious perception voluntary action, and intelligent learning possible." 2. http://www.guttmacher.org... 3. http://uscode.house.gov... 4. http://www.who.int...