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Bodies, rights and abortion

H V McLachlan1

  • 1Department of Social Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|June 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

This study examines body ownership and its relation to abortion rights. It argues that a general right to control one's body does not support abortion entitlements, as no such absolute right exists.

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Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Legal Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Law

Background:

  • The debate surrounding abortion often invokes the principle of bodily autonomy.
  • Questions arise regarding the extent to which individuals possess a right of control over their own bodies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically analyze the concept of body ownership in relation to abortion.
  • To determine if a general entitlement to control one's body can justify abortion rights.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of legal and moral concepts of ownership.
  • Examination of jurisprudential theories (Hohfeld, Honore, Munzer, Waldron).
  • Commonsense reasoning and logical argumentation.

Main Results:

  • The existence of a comprehensive moral or legal right to do as one pleases with one's own body is contested.
  • Abortion entitlements, if they exist, cannot be solely derived from such a purported general right of absolute bodily control.
  • Individuals have a complex set of rights, duties, and restrictions concerning their own bodies, rather than absolute ownership.

Conclusions:

  • The moral and legal permissibility of abortion is not definitively established by the concept of body ownership.
  • A nuanced understanding of rights and duties related to the body is necessary for a comprehensive ethical and legal discussion of abortion.
  • The claim of absolute bodily autonomy as a basis for abortion rights is philosophically unsupported by this analysis.
Keywords:
Genetics and ReproductionLegal ApproachAbortion, InducedEthicsFamily PlanningFertility Control, PostconceptionHuman RightsLiterature ReviewPhilosophical Overview

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