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Understanding the ‘Conservative’ View on Abortion
Author(s) -
Wendler Dave
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bioethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.494
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-8519
pISSN - 0269-9702
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8519.00130
Subject(s) - personhood , abortion , surprise , natural (archaeology) , epistemology , philosophical methodology , psychology , philosophy , social psychology , pregnancy , history , genetics , archaeology , biology
The philosophical literature would have us believe that the conservative view on abortion is based on the claim that the fetus is a person from the time of conception. Given the widespread acceptance of this analysis, it comes as something of a surprise to learn that it conflicts with a number of major arguments offered in support of the conservative view. I argue, in the present paper, that a careful examination of these inconsistencies establishes that the personhood analysis is mistaken: the conservative view is based on the natural process of fetal development, not the personhood of the fetus.