Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-244) and index.
Contents:
Preface -- Acknowledgments -- [ch.] 1. Abortion : why a liberal view is correct / Michael Tooley -- 1. Thinking about the morality of abortion and discussing it with others -- 1.1. Abortion raises intellectually difficult issues -- 1.2. The emotionally charged atmosphere of discussions about abortion -- 1.3. The "package deal" problem -- 1.4. Ethics : religion or philosophy? -- 1.5. A personal note -- 2. A brief overview of my defense of a liberal position on abortion -- 2.1. The view to be defended -- 2.2. The concept of a person -- 2.3. The personhood argument -- 3. Abortion and the appeal to religious revelation -- 4. The appeal to an immaterial, rational mind -- 5. The appeal to psychological capacities -- 6. Two biological antiabortion arguments -- 6.1. The counterexample objection -- 6.2. The basic versus derived moral principles objection -- 6.2.1. Is the crucial premise a basic moral principle? -- 6.2.2. Is the crucial premise a derived moral principle? -- 6.3. The reprogramming objection -- 6.4. A second biological antiabortion argument -- 7. Potentiality arguments against abortion -- 7.1. Arguments in support of an affirmative answer -- 7.2. Arguments in support of a negative answer -- 7.3. Consequentialist and dentological approaches to morality -- 7.4. Summing up : potentiality arguments against abortion -- 8. The identity of persons and biological organisms argument -- 8.1. The argument -- 8.2. The unsoundness of this argument -- 8.2.1. Direct objections to the identity claim -- 8.2.2. Indirect objections to the identity claim -- 8.3. Human persons and organisms -- 8.4. The crucial moral : persons and the right to continued existence -- 9. Are moderate positions on abortion tenable? -- 9.1. Does rudimentary consciousness together with desires concerning one's present state give something moral status? -- 9.2. Does rudimentary consciousness together with certain potentialities give something moral status? -- 9.3. Do developing humans acquire the capacities for thought and self-consciousness prior to birth? -- 9.4. A final argument for a moderate view -- 10. The moral status of abortion : a final summing up -- Notes -- [ch.] 2. Abortion : a communitarian pro-life perspective / Celia Wolf-Devine, Philip E. Devine -- 1. Where we are now -- 2. Methodology -- 2.1. The importance of atavistic responses -- 2.2. Analogical examples and the pathological view of pregnancy -- 2.3. Utilitarianism, negative responsibility, and problems concerning reproduction -- 2.4. Virtue ethics and ordinary morality -- 2.5. Communitarianism versus the volunteer theory of obligations -- 3. The prima facie case against abortion -- 4. The status of the unborn -- 4.1. The humanity of the fetus -- 4.2. Some footnotes to the argument -- 5. The pregnant woman -- 5.1. Divisions among women -- 5.2. The arguments -- 5.2.1. The bodily rights argument -- 5.2.2. Egalitarian arguments -- 6. Questions of law -- 6.1. Roe v. Wade -- 6.2. Toward more just laws -- 7. Policy recommendations -- 7.1. We must bring down the abortion rate as quickly as possible -- 7.2. How to go about bringing down the abortion rate -- 7.2.1. Informed consent -- 7.2.2. Regulation of clinics -- 7.2.3. Eliminate all governmental funding -- 7.2.4. Parental notification or consent -- 7.2.5. Make resources available to support pregnant women -- 8. Role and limits of philosophy -- 9. Conclusion -- Notes -- [ch.] 3. Abortion rights and gender justice worldwide : an essay in political philosophy / Alison M. Jaggar -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Mapping the philosophical terrain -- 2.1. Three philosophical questions about abortion -- 2.2. Personal ethics and political morality -- 3. Liberalism and feminism : two thin commitments of political morality -- 3.1. Liberalism -- 3.2. Feminism -- 4. Designing just institutions in an unjust world : some methodological commitments -- 4.1. Philosophical methodology for the real world -- 4.2. Real-world circumstances of gender justice -- 4.3. Real-world abortion -- 5. Some principles of political morality salient to abortion in the real world -- 6. Abortion : human rights, gender equality, and the public good -- 6.1. Abortion and human rights -- 6.1.1. Women's rights are human rights -- 6.1.2. Sexual and reproductive rights -- 6.1.3. Rights to life, liberty, and bodily integrity -- 6.2. Abortion and gender equality -- 6.2.1. Abortion and equality between men and women -- 6.2.2. Abortion and equality among women -- 6.2.3. Abortion and gendered cycles of inequality -- 6.3. Abortion and the public good -- 6.3.1. Abortion and public health -- 6.3.2. Abortion, population, and economic development -- 7. Objections to abortion rights -- 7.1. Does Abortion violate a fetal right to life? -- 7.2. Should Moral considerations limit the scope of abortion rights? -- 7.3. Does the public provision of abortion violate freedom of conscience? -- 7.3.1. Dissenting taxpayers -- 7.3.2. Dissenting medical personnel and institutions -- 7.4. Does abortion violate feminist values? -- 7.5. Does abortion encourage disrespect for human life? -- 8. Conclusion -- Notes -- [ch.] 4. Response to Alison M. Jaggar, Celia Wolf-Devine, and Philip E. Devine / Michael Tooley -- Comments on Alison M. Jaggar's essay -- Reply to Celia Wolf-Devine and Philip E. Devine -- 1. Species membership and the right to life -- 1.1. The "mere assertion" contention -- 1.2. Species membership, method in ethics, and the appeal to moral intuition -- 1.3. Species membership : summing up -- 2. The "reductio" objection and the "change-of-address" objection -- 3. Potentialities and the right to life -- Summing Up -- Notes -- [ch.] 5. Response to Michael Tooley and Alison M. Jaggar / Celia Wolf-Devine, Philip E. Devine -- 1. Response to Tooley -- 1.1. The big picture -- 1.2. Methodology : philosophy and religion -- 1.3. Abortion and infanticide -- 1.4. The species principle -- 1.5. Potentiality principle -- 2. Response to Jaggar -- 2.1. Liberalism -- 2.2. Feminism -- 2.3. The international front -- 2.4. The "real world" -- 2.5. Consequences for whom? -- 3. A final word -- Notes -- [ch.] 6. Response to Michael Tooley, Celia Wolf-Devine, and Philip E. Devine / Alison M. Jaggar -- 1. Methodology -- 2. Political philosophy -- 2.1. Political liberalism -- 2.2. Rights -- 2.3. Communitarianism -- 3. Reality -- 3.1. Evidence -- 3.2. Psychology -- 3.3. Biology -- 3.4. Health -- 3.5. Consent -- 4. Policy -- 5. Sailing under true colors -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
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