Personhood Begins at Birth: The Rational Foundation for Abortion Policy in a Secular State.

IF 1.8 3区 哲学 Q2 ETHICS
L Lewis Wall, Douglas Brown
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The struggle over legal abortion access in the United States is a religious controversy, not a scientific debate. Religious activists who believe that meaningful individual life (i.e., "personhood") begins at a specific "moment-of-conception" are attempting to pass laws that force this view upon all pregnant persons, irrespective of their medical circumstances, individual preferences, or personal religious beliefs. This paper argues that such actions promote a constitutionally prohibited "establishment of religion." Abortion policy in a secular state must be based upon scientifically accurate biology, not unprovable theological presuppositions. The scientific facts regarding human pregnancy do not support the position that personhood begins with fertilization-at which point a pregnancy does not yet even exist. Abortion policy should regard the embryo/fetus as part of the pregnant individual's body until delivery. We argue that individual "personhood" only begins when the latent potentialities of the fetal nervous system are actualized in the newborn after delivery. The paper argues that instantiating non-scientific beliefs concerning embryonic/fetal "personhood" into the law as the basis for abortion policy establishes a state-sponsored religion. The protection of religious liberty requires that abortion be decriminalized. Abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure and regulated similarly. To protect both religious freedom and sound medical practice, individual legal personhood should be recognized as beginning only at birth.

Abstract Image

人格始于出生:世俗国家堕胎政策的合理基础》。
美国在合法堕胎问题上的斗争是一场宗教争论,而不是科学辩论。一些宗教活动家认为,有意义的个体生命(即 "人格")始于特定的 "受孕时刻",他们试图通过法律将这一观点强加于所有孕妇,而不论其医疗状况、个人偏好或个人宗教信仰如何。本文认为,这种行为助长了宪法禁止的 "建立宗教"。世俗国家的堕胎政策必须建立在科学准确的生物学基础之上,而不是建立在无法证实的神学预设之上。有关人类怀孕的科学事实并不支持人格始于受精的立场--此时怀孕甚至还不存在。堕胎政策应将胚胎/胎儿视为孕妇身体的一部分,直至分娩。我们认为,个人的 "人格 "只有在胎儿神经系统的潜在能力在分娩后的新生儿身上实现时才开始。本文认为,将有关胚胎/胎儿 "人格 "的非科学信仰写入法律,作为堕胎政策的依据,这就确立了国家支持的宗教。保护宗教自由要求堕胎合法化。堕胎应与任何其他医疗程序一样对待,并受到类似的监管。为了保护宗教自由和合理的医疗实践,应承认个人的合法人格始于出生。
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来源期刊
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 医学-医学:伦理
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
8.30%
发文量
67
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: The JBI welcomes both reports of empirical research and articles that increase theoretical understanding of medicine and health care, the health professions and the biological sciences. The JBI is also open to critical reflections on medicine and conventional bioethics, the nature of health, illness and disability, the sources of ethics, the nature of ethical communities, and possible implications of new developments in science and technology for social and cultural life and human identity. We welcome contributions from perspectives that are less commonly published in existing journals in the field and reports of empirical research studies using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The JBI accepts contributions from authors working in or across disciplines including – but not limited to – the following: -philosophy- bioethics- economics- social theory- law- public health and epidemiology- anthropology- psychology- feminism- gay and lesbian studies- linguistics and discourse analysis- cultural studies- disability studies- history- literature and literary studies- environmental sciences- theology and religious studies
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