Beckwith Evaluates Several Arguments for the Permissibility of Abortion and Concludes

question 4

Multiple Choice

Beckwith evaluates several arguments for the permissibility of abortion and concludes that they all fail. He finds fault with the argument from a woman's right over her own body, the argument from abortion being safer than childbirth, and Judith Jarvis Thomson's famous "violinist" argument.
-According to Thomson, even if it is permissible for a woman to have an abortion, she does not also have a right to

• A) perform the abortion herself.
• B) secure the death of the unborn child.
• C) defend her life.
• D) detach herself from a fetus.

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Definitions:

Act Consequentialists

Ethical theorists who evaluate the morality of an action based solely on the outcomes or consequences it produces.

Utilitarian Decision

A decision-making process that maximizes overall happiness and minimizes overall pain, in line with utilitarian principles.

Rule Consequentialism

A theory in moral philosophy that suggests the rightness or wrongness of an action should be judged by the conformity to a rule whose general observance would lead to the best consequences.

Empirical Investigation

A method of research that involves the collection and analysis of data through observation and experiment to test hypotheses or theories.