Abortion Rights: For and Against

Description

This book features opening arguments followed by two rounds of reply between two moral philosophers on opposing sides of the abortion debate. In the opening essays, Kate Greasley and Christopher Kaczor lay out what they take to be the best case for and against abortion rights. In the ensuing dialogue, they engage with each other's arguments and each responds to criticisms fielded by the other. Their conversational argument explores such fundamental questions as: what gives a person the right to life? Is abortion bad for women? What is the difference between abortion and infanticide? Underpinned by philosophical reasoning and methodology, this book provides opposing and clearly structured perspectives on a highly emotive and controversial issue. The result gives readers a window into how moral philosophers argue about the contentious issue of abortion rights, and an in-depth analysis of the compelling arguments on both sides.

Kate Greasley is a Lecturer in Law at University College London. She is the author of Arguments About Abortion: Personhood, Morality, and Law (2017). Christopher Kaczor is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, California. His publications include A Defense of Dignity (2013) and The Ethics of Abortion (2nd edition, 2015).

'This book is the cure for arguments all too often relying upon ad hominem attacks, false premises, bad data and incompleteness. It is also necessary preparation for intelligently grappling with the complex set of arguments about abortion accumulated over more than half a century.' Helen Alvare, George Mason University, Virginia 'This splendid book offers a carefully reasoned debate about the morality of abortion by first-rate philosophers whose views are strongly opposed but who present their arguments and engage with those of the other in a civil, respectful manner. Their clear and accessible discussions do not require any training in philosophy. Those in search of authoritative guidance through the relevant moral issues and arguments, with attention to both secular and theologically-influenced perspectives, will find all they are looking for here.' Jeff McMahan, White's Professor of Moral Philosophy, University of Oxford 'A lively, thoughtful, lucid, and sensitive debate on abortion. The great strength of this book is that the two authors, while profoundly disagreeing, discuss the issues respectfully and with a genuine attempt to take the opposing sides of the arguments seriously. As a result we have one of the most sophisticated, and yet accessible, books on the ethics of abortion available. Students and experienced researchers alike will find this an invaluable resource.' Jonathan Herring, University of Oxford