I. Abortion: the Arguments
A. The basic argument against abortion:
1. Every intentional killing of an innocent human person is objectively morally wrong.
2. Abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent human person.
3. Therefore, abortion is objectively morally wrong. /
II. Ways of Trying to Justify Abortion
1. Deny premise #1--utilitarianism
2. Deny that what is killed is a human being.
3. Deny that what is killed is a person.
4. Deny that all abortions are intentional killing
5. Deny that what is killed is innocent—rather, an aggressor /
III. Fuller Pro-life Argument
1. What is killed is a human being
2. What is killed is a person.
3. Answer objections about: intentional killing and being an aggressor
4. Argument again against utilitarianism /
IV.1 Fertilization
V. The Zygote
IV.2 Fertilization
1. Sperm enters Ovum
2. Sperm breaks up, loses its head and its flagellum (tail)—so, ceases to be
3. Ovum ceases to be – the new cell changes the properties of the zona pellucida, so that it repels penetration by any other sperm -- a fundamental change in intrinsic properties – a new entity
VI. Development of Embryo
(5 wks)
(6 wks)
(8 wks)
(12 wks)
VI. Human Embryo—Zygote Stage Onward
A. Distinct Individuals
1. Usually Genetically distinct from mother or father (and if not, epigenetically distinct)
2. Grows in his or her own direction /
VI.2 Human Embryos—Zygote Stage Onward
B. Human:
Obvious: genetic structure,C. A Whole Human Being (though immature):
1. developmental trajectory
2. All he or she needs is suitable environment,
nutrition, and no disease or accident
3. actively developing himself or herself to the mature stage of a human /
Active Self-Development
Active Self-Development
VII. Objections
1. Doesn’t look human—no smaller than the period at end of sentence
Reply: what makes killing someone wrong is not what they look like, but the kind of being he or she is
Size, degree of development, etc—these are accidental attributes, that vary in degree /
Objections
2. SCNT (cloning):
shows that each cell can become a mature human being—given the right environment/
Reply
A. enucleated ovum—more than "right environment"
B. parts vs. whole
C. contrast: sperms and ova vs. embryos
VII.2 Objections
3. MZ Twinning or combination
Reply: most twinning after day 5—obviously a single, multicellular organism between day 1 and day 5
MZ twinning = a split and coming to be of a second organism from the 1st
Combination = the cells of one are absorbed/