On Tooley, Finnis and the question of Abortion and Infanticide
Tooley argues on Abortion and infanticide that, “being human is not essential to having a right to life, and indeed many non-human animals may have,” and states that “abortion and infanticide will be morally permissible, at least if the right to life is the only consideration relevant to the issue.” The interesting aspect of Tooley’s arguments is the distinctive difference noted between being a “human being” and being a “person.” This sound strategy allows Tooley to lay a very convincing argument. Tooley uses “person” in a moral sense to mean “an individual with the right to life.”
Finnis on the other hand uses both the potential and vagueness arguments to argue that there is a life from the moment of conception. I disagree with Finnis argument that abortion should not be carried out to save the mother is unfair because of “unfair prioritizing,” since I don’t think that the fetus has the right to use the mother’s body and as the sole owner of her body, the mother should have the right to choose whether she wants to have an abortion or not. On the question of rape too Finnis’ arguments fail terribly because the idea that a woman should carry a fetus that was forced on her and one she had no freedom to decide on is something that is quite hubristic. No-one should be forced to carry a fetus that came about through rape or a bad judgment.
Tooley’s arguments seem very comprehensive and mature and are analytic in their approach, and I was really pleased with his argument that “An individual has a right to life only if it possesses the concept of a self as a continuing subject of experiences and other mental states.” I think in addition to his distinct separation between being a “human being” and being a “person,” this further enriches and wins the argument for him.
The tendency for the anti-abortion camp to equate abortion to infanticide is not simply boring but also such a disservice to plight of the hundreds of thousands of female infants whose lives are taken every year in the developing world ( especially India) based on preconceived prejudices in the male-dominated societies of Asia and Africa. There is no contradiction in being a pro-abortionist and at the very same time being vocal against the cruel practices of female infanticide.
As a supporter of abortion, Tooley’s arguments make more sense to me and appeal to my moral convictions more than Finnis.
