The Ethics of Abortion Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice

The overturning of Roe v Wade makes the ethical consideration of abortion more important than ever. Appealing to reason rather than religious belief, this book is the most comprehensive case against the choice of abortion yet published. This third edition of The Ethics of Abortion critically evaluates all the major grounds for denying basic rights to fetal human beings, including the views of those who defend not only abortion but also post-birth abortion. It also provides several (non-theological) justifications for the conclusion that all human beings, including those in utero, should be respected as persons. This book also critiques the view that abortion is not wrong even if the human fetus is a person. The Ethics of Abortion examines hard cases for those who are prolife, such as abortion in cases of rape or in order to save the woman's life, as well as hard cases for defenders of abortion, such as sex selection abortion and the rationale for being "personally opposed" but publicly supportive of abortion. It concludes with a discussion of whether artificial wombs might end the abortion debate. Answering the arguments of defenders of abortion, this book provides reasoned justification for the view that all intentional abortions are ethically wrong and that doctors and nurses who object to abortion should not be forced to act against their consciences.

Updates and Revisions to the Third Edition Include:

• Discusses Achas Burin’s 2014 essay, "Beyond Pragmatism: Defending the ‘Bright Line’ of Birth" in chapter 3
• Incorporates into chapter 8 David Boonin’s cogently argued 2019 book, Beyond Roe: Why Abortion Should be Legal – Even if the Fetus is a Person
• Expands chapter 9 to examine tragic cases in which prenatal diagnosis determines with certainty that a fetus will die shortly after birth
• Includes an updated and expanded section in chapter 11 on recent debates about conscience protections
• Considers in chapter 12 recent arguments that parents have a right to kill if the product of conception is in an artificial womb
• Updates statistics on numbers of abortions in the United States, including corrections to statistics that were once thought true but are now known as erroneous
• Updated bibliography