Abortion is Morally

Wrong
John T. Noonan Jr.
 John T. Noonan Jr.
O 1926-1996
O Judge of the Unites States Court of
Appeals for the 9th Circuit
O Strongly opposed abortion rights
When does an entity become a
person?
O Noonan argues it is at the moment of
conception
O Theologians considered it “ensoulment”
Argument for Abortion Rights:
The fetus is not yet a person; it
is part of the mother, so it is
her choice
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O The fetus is not yet a person

O Response: The potential to

become a person makes the
fetus a person
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O The fetus is dependent on the

mother for life, so it is not a person

O Response: Dependency is
irrelevant:
O Children depend on parents after
they are out of the womb
O Viable does not mean
independent
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O Experience: A person has past

experiences and memories and
emotions; fetuses do not have
experiences
O Response: The fetus does
experience things and reacts to
the environment when it is still
in the womb
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O The feeling of losing a fetus is different

from the feelings of losing a child that
has already been born

O Response: Feelings are not a

suitable guide to measure humanity
O Can’t compare the feelings of the
parents who lost a fetus to the
feelings of the parents who lost a
child
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O The fetus cannot be seen or

touched, so it is not a person
O Response: Sight is untrustworthy
O Sight led to racial discrimination
because people saw color of
skin as a valid argument
against humanity
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O The fetus cannot communicate so it

is not a member of society
O Response: Humanity does not rely
on social recognition
O People have been dehumanized
and denied social status before
O In Aphasia, when someone loses
their ability to speak, are they no
longer a person?
Other Arguments for
Abortion Rights:
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O Abortion should not be illegal

because of religion; the
government is secular

O Response: Not about religion,

it’s about morality
 Argument for
Abortion Rights:

O Aborting a fetus for its own good

O Response: To abort a fetus for

its own good is to say it had a
destiny to begin with, but you
are not giving it a decision
Arguments Against
Abortion Rights:
 Probability
O Biological probability
O 80% chance the conception will
be successful
O People base their actions and
morals off of probabilities – It’s
common sense/logical
O Would the argument be different if
only 1/10 children conceived came
to term, instead of 4/5?
 Bush Metaphor
O 200,000,000 to 1 chance that
the thing you are shooting at is
a man  won’t be blamed for
shooting
O But if it is an 80% chance 
Probably not a good idea
 Logic
O Humanizing the fetus
O If you kill something that already
has a genetic code, organs,
sensitivity to pain, and has an
80% chance of become a child 
destroying a being
 Catholic Theology
O Fetus was always thought of as a
separate entity from its parents, it is
not just a part of the mom
O Fetus = human
O Abortion is only right in self-defense
 Morality Argument
O Abortion is selfish because
you are favoring your own
interests more than the life
of another