A 3 page research paper/argumentative essay that examines the issues surrounding the abortion debate. Abortion is definitively the most "divisive bio-ethical issue of our time" (Levine, 1993, p. 22). In 1973, the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade ignited a national debate concerning the proper regulation of abortion that has continued to the present (Roy, 2003). Seizing on the language used by the Court, lawyers and commentators have framed this debate almost exclusively in terms of the "woman's right to abortion and the fetus' lack of a corresponding personhood right" (Roy, 2003, p. 339). Examination of this issue shows that both sides have legitimate arguments, but that there are also points on which the majority of the American people can agree. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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concerning the proper regulation of abortion that has continued to the present (Roy, 2003). Seizing on the language used by the Court, lawyers and commentators have framed this debate almost
exclusively in terms of the "womans right to abortion and the fetus lack of a corresponding personhood right" (Roy, 2003, p. 339). Examination of this issue shows that both sides
have legitimate arguments, but that there are also points on which the majority of the American people can agree. The opinions of Beverly W. Harrison, professor of Christian ethics,
are typical of the "pro-choice" position that favors legalized abortion. Harrison lists five points that she feels constitute "personhood." These are: 1) consciousness, and in particular the capacity to feel
pain; 2) reasoning, a developed capacity to solve new and relatively complex problems; 3) self-motivated activity; 4) the capacity to communicate; and 5) the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness, either
individual or social or both (1993, p. 26). Harrison concludes that a fetus does not have any of these qualities, so, therefore, does not qualify as a "person." Harrison
does qualify her endorsement of abortion regarding the later stages of gestation. She states that abortion in these instances "are not to be undertaken without serious justifications" (1993, p.
27). However, even in late pregnancy, she argues that the emotional well-being of the pregnant women outweighs the value of the fetus that she sustains (Harrison, 1993). Psychologist Sydney Callahan
states the "pro-life" position that opposes legalized abortion. He argues that from the moment of conception, there is no clear point at which the immature form of the fetus moves
into the "person" category, so therefore must be considered to be "person" from the beginning. Callahan goes on to address all of the points typically raised by pro-choice theorists. He
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