• WEEK 7: Abortion (A Case Study in Ethics)

Required Readings

• John T. Noonan: An Almost Absolute Value in History
• Mary Anne Warren: On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion
• Judith Jarvis Thomson: A Defense of Abortion
• Course Notes for Week 7

Discussion Questions

(Write out brief answers to this week's discussion questions and submit them via a direct message to me on Slack no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, October 10th. Your answers should be brief, no more than a few sentences each. Be prepared to discuss them in class.)

1. How might Noonan respond to Warren's argument for the conclusion that abortion is morally permissible until late in pregnancy?

2. In keeping with Thomson's thought experiments, try to come up with your own example of a situation in which a man's right to privacy and bodily autonomy and another person's right to life are in conflict, and describe the situation.

3. There are many arguments for and against the moral permissibility of abortion, and we have only had time to cover a few of them this week. Give one example of such an argument that hasn't been covered in the readings or notes for this week.

Zoom Meeting

This week's Zoom meeting will be on Thursday, October 14th, 11:10AM–12:25PM. Here is the link to join.