Understanding Abortion: From Mixed Feelings to Rational Thought

By Stephen D. Schwarz with Kiki Latimer
Lexington Books, A Division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
January 2012.  228 pages

Books on abortion typically express and defend a particular position. This book gives both sides, as fairly, evenly and objectively as possible; it gets to the heart of each position, the core idea which animates it. As a compilation of the strongest pro-choice and pro-life arguments in a single work, it allows for meaningful comparisons and intelligent dialogue, and thus gives the discerning reader a never-before-possible opportunity to see both sides comprehensively and clearly. It is an introduction to the issue, not only to the basic positions on the issue.

WHY THIS BOOK is HELPFUL for PRO-LIFERS and PRO-CHOICERS

This book does not take sides. It gives both positions as fairly, evenly and objectively as possible, with the reasons behind each position. It aims to give the reader a clear understanding of all the important aspects of this important question. Why is it a book for pro-lifers? Why is it a book for pro-choicers? There are several good reasons:

1. STRONG PRO-CHOICE ARGUMENTS and STRONG PRO-LIFE ARGUMENTS. It contains strong and effective arguments for both sides on all the important issues that divide them, as indicated here in #2. The text is an evenly-balanced back and forth between the two sides, with arguments and counter-arguments, objections and replies.

2. EXPLAINS THE MANY ISSUES. There are several issues within the abortion debate. Is abortion as the direct killing of an innocent person? Or is it the removal of something that is only biologically a human being but not yet a real person? Even if it is a person does a pregnant woman have a duty to sustain this little person in her body? Does abortion cause pain to the child or the being in the womb? When does a human person begin to exist? Are late abortions significantly different in moral terms from early abortions? What should one do if one is in doubt about the moral status of abortion? Should abortion be legal or illegal? Can the government remain neutral on this issue? Or does it necessarily have to take some stand or other? Some people say “I’m personally opposed but I think it should be legal”; is this a logically coherent position? What is the right thing to do in the hard cases (rape, incest, the life of the woman and the child with severe deformities)?

3. KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS. In any debate it is vital that you know the opposing side, what your opponents believe, where they are coming from. What arguments do pro-choicers use? What arguments do pro-lifers use? Where do these arguments lead if followed through logically? Knowing your opponent’s arguments is a necessary first step in any meaningful discussion and dialogue on this issue.

4. A BOOK FOR YOUR FRIENDS. This is a book you can give to any of your friends and acquaintances. For pro-choicers and pro-lifers: it will help them better understand both their own position and that of their opponents. Both sides will find their position well represented, plus an invitation to see what the other side is like. For people on the fence, those who have “mixed feelings” on this issue: it is tailor-made for them, as indicated by the title. The book contains no appeal to religious faith, but relies solely on solid common sense and rational thought.

LECTURE SERIES ON UNDERSTANDING ABORTION
with co-author Kiki Latimer

Available for seminaries, churches & other groups
A ten-hour lecture series that brings to life a new understanding of both  sides of this difficult issue, in order that both sides may better dialogue and get to the heart of the matter. Without a deeper understanding of the abortion issue and how individuals see it there can be no final rational thought. Kiki Latimer will help you probe both Pro-Life and
Pro-Choice passionate convictions in both the personal, moral and legal realms to find rational insights that are often missed by caring and sincere people on either side of this issue. 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
“Oh My God, I’m Pregnant” 
Understanding the Abortion Issue
The Moral Question and the Legal Question
Is Abortion a Religious Issue? 
Neutral Terminology
Is the Being in the Womb a Person? 
Points of Agreement between the Two Sides
Facts about the Being in the Womb (BIW)

PART ONE: THE PRO-CHOICE MORAL POSITION

CHAPTER 2: THE FEMINIST QUALITY OF LIFE ARGUMENT
There are Many Reasons for Having an Abortion
Women Themselves Must be the Ones Who Make the Abortion Decision
Pregnancy has Profound Effects on Women’s Lives
Abortion Rights are Basic Human Rights and Necessary for Gender Equality

CHAPTER 3: THE GENERAL QUALITY OF LIFE ARGUMENT
[1] Every Child a Wanted Child
[2] Every Child a Healthy Child
[3] The Quality of Life of the Woman
[4] The Quality of Life of the Whole World: Overpopulation

CHAPTER 4: THE NOT-A-PERSON ARGUMENT
Human Beings and Persons
A Fetus has no Absolute Value
Fetuses are not Persons
Mary Anne Warren’s Not-a-Person Argument
Michael Tooley’s Not-a-Person Argument
Michael Tooley’s Defense of Infanticide
David Boonin’s Not-a-Person Argument
The Maguire-Morgan Not-a-Person Argument
The Fetus is a Potential Person, not an Actual Person
The Achievement View
When is Personhood Achieved? 
Summary Statement: the Fetus is not a Real Person, Only a Biological Organism
Chapter Summary Statement: Basis and Implications of the Not-a-Person Thesis

CHAPTER 5: THE NO-DUTY-TO-SUSTAIN ARGUMENT
A Woman's Right over her Body
Bolton’s No-Duty-to-Sustain Argument
Thomson’s Violinist Argument
Thomson’s Violinist Argument and the Case of Rape
Thomson’s Intruder Argument
Thomson on the Meaning of a Right to Life and the Right to an Abortion
Thomson’s Account does not Support an Absolute Right to Abortion
Abortion Yes – Securing the Death of the Child No
Standard Methods of Abortion
Another Method: Dilation and Extraction
A Controversy within the Pro-Choice Community
The Question of Fetal Pain

PART TWO: THE PRO-LIFE MORAL POSITION

CHAPTER 6: THE REALITY OF THE CHILD IN THE WOMB
First: The Continuum Argument
Summary Statement of the Continuum Argument
Second: The SLED Argument
Third: Being a Person and Functioning as a Person
The Person-Human Being Distinction: Engineered to Try to Justify Abortion? 
Summary Statement: Being and Functioning
Chapter Summary Statement: the Reality of the Child in the Womb

CHAPTER 7: ABORTION MEANS KILLING THIS CHILD
Standard Methods of Abortion
Another Method: Dilation and Extraction or Partial-Birth Abortion
“Partial-Birth Abortion” is not Really Abortion
What are the Results of Abortion? 
Abortion as Infanticide: the Kamchadal Practice
Abortion Kills the Child: the First Refutation of the Violinist Argument
The Child's Right over His Body
Abortion is Intentional Killing: a Second Refutation
A Mother’s Duty to Sustain Her Child: a Third Refutation
The Violinist Argument and the Case of Rape
The Special Relation between a Woman and Her Child
Our General Duty to Help One Another: a Fourth Refutation
Summary of Refutations of the Violinist Argument
Objection and Reply: He Will Never Know the Difference

CHAPTER 8: ABORTION CAUSES PAIN TO THE CHILD
Abortion is Wrong because it Causes Horrible Pain to the Child! 
The Special Horror of Partial-Birth Abortions
Controversy Regarding Pain for the Child
The Risk Factor Concerning Pain to the Child
Weighing Harms and Benefits
The Pain Argument Applies even if the BIW is not a Person

CHAPTER 9: THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
[1] A Reply to “Every Child a Wanted Child” 
[2] A Reply to “Every Child a Healthy Child” 
[3] A Reply to “The Quality of Life of the Woman” 
[4] A Reply to “The Quality of Life of the Whole World: Overpopulation” 
A Reply to “The Relative to Social Acceptance” View of Being a Person
A Reply to Two Feminist Pro-Choice Arguments
The Question of Infanticide
Making Killing Seem Honorable

PART THREE: FURTHER MORAL CONSIDERATIONS

CHAPTER 10: SOME PRO-CHOICE REPLIES TO PRO-LIFE CLAIMS
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Continuum Argument
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the SLED Argument
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Being-Functioning Distinction
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Violinist Argument: Active Killing
Pro-Chioce Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Violinist Argument: Intentional Killing
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Violinist Argument: A Duty to the Child
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Violinist Argument: A General Duty
Pro-Chioce Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Child's Right over His Body
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding Pain to the Child
Pro-Choice Replies to Pro-Life Claims Regarding the Dignity of the Human Person

CHAPTER 11: WHEN DOES A PERSON BEGIN TO EXIST? 
Formulating the Question
Some Main Lines Proposed as Marking the Beginning of a Person
The Question of Infanticide
An Objection to Almost All of these Lines
The Achievement View, Being-Functioning and the Lines

CHAPTER 12: OTHER APPROACHES
The Agnostic Position
The Gradualist Position
Early vs Late Abortion
Pro-Life: The Don Marquis Future-Like-Ours Argument
Pro-Choice: Some Replies to the Future-Like-Ours Argument

CHAPTER 13: WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF WE ARE IN DOUBT? 
How Doubt May Arise
The Pro-Life If-in-Doubt Argument
The Pro-Choice If-in-Doubt Argument
The Psychology of Pro-Choice and Pro-Life
The Scope of Doubt: Early vs Late Abortions
Which Way of Going Wrong is Worse?

PART FOUR: THE LEGAL QUESTION

CHAPTER 14: THE LEGAL STATUS: PRO-CHOICE AND PRO-LIFE
Can We Legislate Morality? 
The Pro-Choice Legal Position
The Pro-Life Legal Position

CHAPTER 15: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
The Government Cannot be Neutral: It must Take a Stand
The Government Cannot be Neutral: It must Draw the Line Somewhere
“I’m Personally Opposed to Abortion, but I Think it Should be Legal”

CHAPTER 16: OTHER SIGNIFICANT LEGAL ASPECTS
The Question of Discrimination
The Question of Imposing
The Question of Privacy
The Question of Power-Freedom-Control for Women: a Pro-Choice View
The Question of Power-Freedom-Control for Women: a Pro-Life View
Which Way of Going Wrong is Worse?

CHAPTER 17: THE HARD CASES: RAPE, LIFE OF THE WOMAN, SEVERE DEFORMITIES
Two Positions on the Hard Cases
The Case of Rape: Protecting the Woman’s Choice
The Case of Rape: Protecting the Innocent Child
The Case of Rape: The Testimony of a Person Conceived in Rape
The Case of Rape: Some Final Thoughts
The Life of the Woman
The Child with Severe Deformities
A General Analysis of the Pro-Life-with-Exceptions View

PART FIVE: CONCLUDING TOPICS

CHAPTER 18: SAFETY ISSUES
Pro-Choice: Keep Abortion Safe and Legal
Pro-Life: Legal Abortion is not Safe
Pro-Choice: Back-Alley Abortions
Pro-life: Back-Alley Abortions
Is Abortion Safer Than Childbirth?

CHAPTER 19: GOING BEYOND ABORTION: THE UNITY WAY
The Unity Way: Woman and Child Go Together
The Unity Way: Abortion is Harmful to Women
Unwanted Pregnancy vs Unwanted Child
Abortion is about Family Relationships
An Alternative to Abortion: Adoption
A Final Note

CHAPTER 20: ULTIMATE ISSUES
First Set of Ultimate Issues: What is Abortion? 
Second Set of Ultimate Issues: What is a Human person? 
Third Set of Ultimate Issues: Further Moral Considerations
Fourth Set of Ultimate Issues: Other Items
Final Set of Ultimate Issues: Identifying with Those Involved