Abortion: Drawing a Line of Moral Permissibility in Fetal Development

Author

Madison Elizabeth Nash, University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College

Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Philosophy and Religion

First Advisor

Neil Manson

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The goals of this thesis are to first examine prominent arguments in philosophical and religious ethics regarding the morality of induced abortions, and then to create my own moral argument regarding induced abortion by drawing a line during fetal development. I will first discuss the biological stages of fetal development, the effects of pregnancy on a pregnant woman, and the mechanics of common induced abortion procedures. Next, I will present and analyze renowned philosophical arguments regarding the morality of abortion. Then, I will present and analyze arguments regarding the morality of induced abortions drawn from two religious traditions - Roman Catholicism and Reform Judaism. Finally, I will present my moral argument, which picks out a discrete stage of fetal development that determines the morality of induced abortion.

Recommended Citation

Nash, Madison Elizabeth, "Abortion: Drawing a Line of Moral Permissibility in Fetal Development" (2018). Honors Theses. 616.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/616

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