This structured discussion on abortion is intended to structure
issues related to abortion.
Please see the Structured discussion page
(i) for reasons why such semi-formal summaries/discussions are interesting
complement to informal discussions,
(ii) for explanations on the notation used below, or
(iii) another example.
Below, to start up the discussion, a few top-level ideas from the
Wikipedia pages on
'abortion' and
'morality and legality of abortion'
pages have been summarized and organized using the notation introduced in the
Structured discussion page.
This structured summarization exercice does not mean that I agree or disagree with
what is summarized.
Please follow this notation if you contribute to this structured discussion,
and preferably use your name initials (e.g., "pm")
rather than a long name when signing each relation+statement that you add.
Reminder: 1) the indentation is important and permit to distinguish between
''relations on (source/destination) statements'' and ''relations on relations'';
2) the "- " lists are used to represent a conjunction of statements.
Do not hesitate to send me
("pm")
an email, e.g. if you want to add something but do not know how.
"abortion is morally ok" //note: "morally" is here to filter out "legal" issues
opposite_belief: ("abortion is not morally ok"
corrective_restriction: " 'abortion used as a contraceptive method'
is not morally ok" (pm)
)(author: pm), //note: "author:" is optional and does not imply "believer:"
corrective_restriction: " 'abortion without which the health of a woman would be in danger'
is morally ok " (pm),
corrective_restriction: " 'abortion without which the birth of an unhealthy/disabled child is likely'
is morally ok" (pm),
corrective_restriction: " 'abortion without which the woman/family/child will likely have a long-term hardship'
is morally ok" (pm),
corrective_restriction: "abortion is morally ok when not aborting will
likely lead to long-term hardship for the woman or
the child" (pm),
corrective_restriction: "abortion is morally ok when no (more) children is
wanted by the would-be mother" (pm),
corrective_restriction: "abortion is morally ok if it is to postpone
childbearing" (pm),
corrective_restriction: " 'abortion as a way to select the sex of children'
is morally ok" (pm),
corrective_restriction: "abortion is morally ok for not yet 'viable' fetuses,
i.e., fetuses not yet capable of living outside the
womb if delivered" (pm),
argument: "aborting is part of a woman's reproductive rights" (pm),
argument: "aborting is part of a woman's self determination rights" (pm),
objection: "at any stage of its development, a fetus has the right to live" (pm,
objection: ("a woman's self determination right outweights a fetus' right to live"
opposite_belief: "a fetus' right to live outweights a woman's
self determination right" (pm)
)(pm));
"at any stage of its development, a fetus has the right to live"
specialization: "killing a fetus is wrong" (pm),
argument: - "at any stage of its development, a fetus has or should have the
same rights as a person" (pm)
- "the right to live is a right of a person" (pm);
"at any stage of its development, a fetus has or should have the same rights
as a person"
objection: "a fetus, like a child, should not have all the rights of an adult" (pm,
objection: "regarding fetus abortion, the only right to consider is the right to
of a fetus - seen as a potential person - to live" (dm)),
objection: "at early stages of its development, a fetus does not even have a
nervous system" (pm,
objection: "the physical/sensorial capacity of a fetus is irrelevant when
considering his/her rights" (pm));
"killing a fetus is wrong"
argument: - ("aborting deprives a fetus of its future as adult"
objection: "depriving a fetus of a future is ok" (pm)
)(pm)
- "killing an adult is wrong" (pm),
objection: ("depriving a fetus of a future is ok"
argument: - "the future of a fetus is the same as the future of the
particular ovum and sperm that merged to create this fetus" (pm)
- ("it is ok to destroy an ovum/sperm"
argument: - "an ovum/sperm is not yet a conscious being (in the
sense of something that can experience pain)" (pm)
- "destroying something which is not a conscious being
is ok when that hurts no one/animal" (pm)
- "not ALL possibilities of creating
a new animal HAVE TO be exploited" (pm)
)(pm)
)(pm),
argument: "killing an unwilling-to-die living thing is wrong" (pm,
objection: "a fetus does not want to live or die" (pm) );
"killing an adult is wrong"
corrective_restriction: "killing an unwilling-to-die person is wrong" (pm),
objection: "euthanasia of patients that would otherwise have a future filled
with intense physical pain is morally acceptable" (pm),
argument: "killing an adult deprives him/her of a future" (pm);