Personal Morality’ Daniel Callahan has his own opinions on the Idea of abortion. While he believes that abortion Is similar to the act of taking a human life, he states that in several situations, It may be Justifiable. A) There are many problems which arise when people try to deduce whether or not they are actually taking a human life. Callahan believes that biological evidence would not help approve or disapprove when the beginning of life is for the fetus.
The decision would depend on factors such as one’s moral policy, the values and rights en believes need balancing, and the type of questions one needs to be asked. The “tissue theory’ implies that a developed human concepts and even a human zygote are considered to be mere pieces of tissue. Callahan believes the theory to only be plausible with disregard of the biological evidence provided. Furthermore, since the zygote or something related can be considered a potential human, out of respect for the sanctity of life, the thought of snuffing out a potential human life is enough to cause a moral dilemma. ) For Callahan, respect for human life may imply that abortion would be the wrong thing action to take. This Is due to the Idea that the fetus may be a potential human, and when beveling It from a perspective In which you are observing its potential through the growth and development of the child, one can see that this may be a moral issue. Even if development in the future allows a way to destroy the concepts before it can develop safely, many would still feel that the moral dilemma remained.
This can be compared to crushing a flower before it is allowed to bloom. C) Callahan view of the permissibility of abortion relies on the reason for doing so. Callahan believes that the reasons should be serious enough for he woman that it actually warrants abortion as a sound alternative. As he states, “a woman has moral obligations to herself, her family, and her society. ” It is believed by some that unless It Is a direct threat to the physical life of the mother, there aren’t really circumstances that will necessitate an abortion.
While cases like rape and Incest can lead to abortion being an Immediate alternative, It Is not written In stone that a mother cannot love a previously unwanted child. However, one example he gives where it is permissible for a woman to have an abortion is in the case where he has a duty to society in order to prevent overpopulation. Also, if the birth of the child will indirectly put the mother in the face of danger in the future (such as with members of family) it is also permissible to have an abortion.
Abortion and Reproduction a) Singer responds to the objection that states IV is unnatural by comparing that objection to our own medical advances. If people were to reject medical advances due to the fact that they are “unnatural”, we would be rejecting all of the modern medicines or ways of treating people we have developed to date. Singer Implies that he reason for our medical enterprise Is to prolong our lives for a more pleasant life, which would most likely be shortened due to the ravages of nature.
He states that the adverse situations. B) In response to the claim that IV would strain a marital relationship, Singer states that few infertile couples would feel that IV would cause them to have a damaged relationship due to the fact it is the best possible way for them to give birth to their own child. He also believes it is paternalistic for somebody else to rebuke them for this, as they are the ones to decide whether or not their allegations will be affected by an IV.
In response to the claim that states IV is illicit to the action of masturbation, mostly all prohibition from masturbation spawns from religion, and apparently, even some religious spokesmen are beginning to consider this prohibition as outdated. Furthermore, even if somebody were to defend these prohibitions by stating that it is related to sexual activity (which, in the case of religion, must only be used for procreation or increasing of bond between partners), in the end, IV is leading to procreation. ) According to Singer, the objection to IV room some feminists is that IV is only for the benefit of men and a detriment for women. Some feminists, like Robin Rowland, state that “technology is in the hands of men. ” She believes that women will become obsolete with techniques such as this. In response to this claim, Singer states that many women helped produce results for IV research. Even if one were to grant the benefit of the doubt to the men, IV was created to aid infertile couples. The one who is usually distressed in these situations is usually the woman, so essentially, IV was created to help her more.
