RE: Ethics Project
February 26, 2016 at 10:05 am
(This post was last modified: February 26, 2016 at 10:07 am by Ben Davis.)
When debating this issue, it's important to qualify a few points from the outset:
1. It's crucial to understand the developmental phase of the foetus at the time of proposed abortion: foetal viability occurs at ~20 weeks and I don't know of any nation which makes elective (not medically necessary) abortion legal past this point.
2. There are circumstances when abortion might be recommended due to the medical impacts on the life of the mother or foetus. If the mother would be killed as a result of the gestative process or birth, there's room to argue that abortion is preferable. Likewise, if the length and/or quality of life of the foetus, once born, is drastically degraded.
The purpose of making these points is to take the argument out of the black/white 'God says it's wrong' zone and put it, rightly, in to the grey 'here's a serious issue with individual & social repercussions which needs serious intellectual consideration and community effort' zone. Your first task is to get your audience thinking.
Then you can move on to the Right to Bodily Autonomy as one of the strongest ethical arguments for elective abortion, certainly for early-stage (first trimester) abortions, when coupled with current medical knowledge about foetal viability.
That would give you a good start but remember that there's no single answer on whether abortion is right but it should be a personal choice, which the government should not mandate against. So don't try to get your audience to completely agree with you, just focus on discrediting the biblical view with reason and evidence and most people's senses of empathy, dignity and compassion will do the rest.
1. It's crucial to understand the developmental phase of the foetus at the time of proposed abortion: foetal viability occurs at ~20 weeks and I don't know of any nation which makes elective (not medically necessary) abortion legal past this point.
2. There are circumstances when abortion might be recommended due to the medical impacts on the life of the mother or foetus. If the mother would be killed as a result of the gestative process or birth, there's room to argue that abortion is preferable. Likewise, if the length and/or quality of life of the foetus, once born, is drastically degraded.
The purpose of making these points is to take the argument out of the black/white 'God says it's wrong' zone and put it, rightly, in to the grey 'here's a serious issue with individual & social repercussions which needs serious intellectual consideration and community effort' zone. Your first task is to get your audience thinking.
Then you can move on to the Right to Bodily Autonomy as one of the strongest ethical arguments for elective abortion, certainly for early-stage (first trimester) abortions, when coupled with current medical knowledge about foetal viability.
That would give you a good start but remember that there's no single answer on whether abortion is right but it should be a personal choice, which the government should not mandate against. So don't try to get your audience to completely agree with you, just focus on discrediting the biblical view with reason and evidence and most people's senses of empathy, dignity and compassion will do the rest.
Sum ergo sum
