Deck 7: Abortion

Question 1

The risk of death associated with abortion performed at eight weeks or earlier is one death per _______ abortions.

A) 100
B) 11,000
C) 1 million
D) 3,000

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Conservatives on the abortion issue charge that liberals' standards for personhood imply that

A) cognitively impaired individuals are persons.
B) infanticide is never morally permissible.
C) some infants are persons.
D) cognitively impaired individuals are not persons.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that

A) killing a fetus is always wrong.
B) the unborn's right to life is absolute.
C) unjustly killing a fetus is always wrong.
D) killing a fetus is always permissible.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Roman Catholic position on abortion incorporates

A) a prohibition against indirect killing of the unborn.
B) the doctrine of double effect.
C) the doctrine of practical utility.
D) an endorsement of therapeutic abortion.

Question 5

Late-term abortions are

A) rare.
B) commonplace.
C) uncontroversial.
D) impossible.

Question 6

The ending of a pregnancy due to natural causes-birth defect or injury, for example-is known as

A) therapeutic abortion.
B) partial-birth abortion.
C) premature labor.
D) spontaneous abortion.

Question 7

The ending of a pregnancy to preserve the life or health of the mother is known as

A) therapeutic abortion.
B) partial-birth abortion.
C) premature labor.
D) spontaneous abortion.

Question 8

Which of the following are reasons often given by women for terminating a pregnancy?

A) "I can't afford a baby now, because I'm unmarried, unemployed, or destitute."
B) "Having a baby would change my life and interfere with education, employment, etc.)."
C) "I don't want to be a single mother," or "I'm having relationship problems."
D) All of the above

Question 9

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the _______ Act, outlawing a type of late-term abortion.

A) Therapeutic Abortion Ban
B) Abortions for Minors Prohibition
C) Fetal Protection
D) Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

Question 10

_______ argues that even if the conservative view is correct and the unborn is a person from the moment of conception, abortion may still be morally justified. A fetus may have a right to life, but this right "does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person's body-even if one needs it for life itself."

A) Mary Anne Warren
B) Joel Feinberg
C) Judith Jarvis Thomson
D) J.S. Mill

Question 11

A(n) ________ can argue that abortion is morally permissible because without this option, women and society would suffer terrible consequences.

A) utilitarian
B) Kantian
C) natural law theorist
D) None of the above

Question 12

A(n) ________ can argue that abortion is morally permissible in cases where the fetus faces a demeaning, miserable existence, because in these cases we show ultimate respect for its status by averting such indignities through abortion.

A) utilitarian
B) Kantian
C) natural law theorist
D) None of the above

Question 13

A(n) ________ can argue that abortion is morally impermissible because an abortion can cause the woman tremendous emotional pain, and the child can bring much happiness to the family and to the world.

A) utilitarian
B) Kantian
C) natural law theorist
D) None of the above

Question 14

Pro-life activists claim a fetus can experience pain by

A) 1 week.
B) 6 weeks.
C) 12 weeks.
D) 20 weeks.

Question 15

_______ Americans would like to see Roe v. Wade completely overturned.

A) A minority of
B) A majority of
C) No
D) All

Question 16

The Hebrew and Christian scriptures denounce abortion.

Question 17

Virtue ethics is never used to decide issues involving abortion.

Question 18

In Roe v. Wade, the Court balanced the woman's right and state interests according to trimester of pregnancy.

Question 19

Both liberals and conservatives on the abortion issue agree that murder is wrong and that persons have a right to life.

Question 20

Most Western industrialized countries have lower abortion rates than the United States does.

Question 21

A utilitarian position can be staked out either for abortion or against it.

Question 22

Kantian ethics is committed to an anti-abortion position.

Question 23

The natural law position on abortion as articulated in Roman Catholicism is that killing the unborn even for the purpose of saving the mother's life is impermissible.

Question 24

It is rare for a woman having a first-trimester abortion to suffer major complications that require hospitalization.

Question 25

Most people believe therapeutic abortion to be morally permissible.

Question 26

Nearly 90 percent of abortions are performed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Question 27

As a result of Roe v. Wade, a woman's right to end her pregnancy cannot be curtailed by the state in the first trimester.

Question 28

Both liberals and conservatives in the abortion debate agree on the basic moral principles that murder is wrong, that persons have a right to life, and that personal freedom should not be curtailed except for very important reasons.

Question 29

Kant's view can be plausibly construed as sanctioning abortion as a way of respecting a fetus' personhood.

Question 30

Even if the fetus is considered a person, a Kantian could plausibly argue for therapeutic abortions on the grounds of self-protection.

Question 31

Name and define the three general positions one can take on the moral permissibility of abortion.

Question 32

Mary Anne Warren asserts that five traits are central to personhood. Any being that satisfies none of these traits is certainly not a person. A fetus satisfies none and is therefore not a person. Present one common conservative objection to this argument.

Question 33

Present two Kantian arguments regarding abortion: one in which the unborn is considered a person and one in which the unborn is not considered a person.

Question 34

Describe the limits on state regulation of abortion granted by Roe v Wade. Be sure to detail the way these limits change at different stages of pregnancy.

Question 35

What is the main conservative argument against abortion?

Question 36

The Following Questions For Readings: "A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson
-According to Thomson, the view that abortion is impermissible even to save the mother's life is properly called the _______ view.

A) moderate
B) extreme
C) mainstream
D) rationalist

Question 37

The Following Questions For Readings: "A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson
-According to Thomson, the famous violinist has

A) an absolute right to the woman's body.
B) no right under any circumstances to the woman's body.
C) no right in many cases to the woman's body.
D) a right to be killed by the woman.

Question 38

The Following Questions For Readings: "A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson
-According to Thomson, unborn persons whose existence is due to rape have

A) a right to the use of their mothers' bodies.
B) an absolute right to life.
C) unlimited rights.
D) no right to the use of their mothers' bodies.

Question 39

The Following Questions For Readings: "Why Abortion Is Immoral," Don Marquis
-According to Marquis, the arguments both for and against abortion

A) are sound.
B) are valid.
C) possess certain symmetries.
D) have nothing in common.

Question 40

The Following Questions For Readings: "Why Abortion Is Immoral," Don Marquis
-According to Marquis, the anti-abortion principle "It is prima facie seriously wrong to kill a human being" is

A) ambiguous.
B) true.
C) immoral.
D) acceptable.

Question 41

The Following Questions For Readings: "Why Abortion Is Immoral," Don Marquis
-According to Marquis, the pro-choice notion of personhood is problematic because

A) psychological characteristics plausibly define personhood.
B) personhood must be defined as "biologically human."
C) persons have no moral rights.
D) there is no good reason to think that psychological characteristics should make a moral difference.

Question 42

The Following Questions For Readings: "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," Mary Anne Warren
-According to Warren, we must distinguish between two senses of human being-human in the genetic sense and human in the _______ sense.

A) physical
B) religious
C) material
D) moral

Question 43

The Following Questions For Readings: "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," Mary Anne Warren
-According to Warren, we have no right to assume that genetic humanity is necessary for

A) personhood.
B) human characteristics.
C) alien life.
D) prehuman traits.

Question 44

The Following Questions For Readings: "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," Mary Anne Warren
-According to Warren, the traits most central to the concept of personhood include

A) spiritual or religious awareness.
B) human DNA and motivation.
C) consciousness, reasoning, and self-awareness.
D) a brain, high intelligence, and instinct.

Question 45

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion and the Concept of a Person," Jane English
-According to English, both the conservative and liberal positions on abortion are

A) correct.
B) possibly mistaken.
C) neither true nor false.
D) clearly mistaken.

Question 46

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion and the Concept of a Person," Jane English
-According to English, a conclusive answer to the question of whether a fetus is a person is

A) unattainable.
B) possible.
C) unnecessary.
D) sufficient.

Question 47

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion and the Concept of a Person," Jane English
-According to English, our concept of a person is

A) sharp and decisive enough to give us a solution to the abortion controversy.
B) correct but counterintuitive.
C) not sharp or decisive enough to give us a solution to the abortion controversy.
D) the basis for a solution to the abortion debate.

Question 48

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion," Margaret Olivia Little
-Little says the values that women often wrestle with in deciding to have an abortion include

A) the expense of sustaining a pregnancy.
B) respect for fatherhood.
C) respect for creation.
D) the sanctity of all life.

Question 49

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion," Margaret Olivia Little
-Little says that burgeoning human life is

A) not respect-worthy.
B) casually interesting.
C) potentially trivial.
D) respect-worthy.

Question 50

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion," Margaret Olivia Little
-Little says that for many women who contemplate abortion, the desire to end pregnancy is centrally a desire to avoid

A) motherhood.
B) gestation.
C) childbirth.
D) pain.

Question 51

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion through a Feminist Ethics Lens," Susan Sherwin
-According to Sherwin, a fetus has moral significance, but its moral standing depends on

A) the community into which it is born.
B) its relationship to the pregnant woman.
C) the virtues of the woman.
D) the laws of the state.

Question 52

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion through a Feminist Ethics Lens," Susan Sherwin
-Sherwin says that feminists consider it self-evident that the

A) life of the pregnant woman must be balanced against the life of the fetus.
B) main focus of attention must be the moral status of the developing embryo.
C) pregnant woman is a subject of principle concern in abortion decisions.
D) pregnant woman is of great secondary moral concern.

Question 53

The Following Questions For Readings: "Abortion through a Feminist Ethics Lens," Susan Sherwin
-Sherwin says most feminists believe that a pregnant woman is in the best position to judge whether abortion is

A) sanctioned by abstract rules.
B) the correct legal solution.
C) the appropriate response to her circumstances.
D) medically necessary.

Question 54

The Following Questions For Readings: Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Roe v. Wade, the court held that in the first trimester, the woman's right to an abortion

A) can be regulated and even banned.
B) cannot be restrained by the state.
C) can be banned for the sake of the woman's health.
D) depends on the state in which she resides.

Question 55

The Following Questions For Readings: Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Roe v. Wade, the court asserted that a woman's right to an abortion is based on a constitutionally guaranteed right

A) of personal privacy.
B) to life.
C) of self-defense.
D) of due process.

Question 56

The Following Questions For Readings: Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Roe v. Wade, the court declared that the woman's right to an abortion is

A) absolute.
B) unsupported by the Constitution.
C) sacrosanct.
D) not absolute.

Question 57

The Following Questions For Readings: Planned Parenthood v. Casey, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court concluded that it is a constitutional liberty of the woman to have some freedom to

A) protect the life of the fetus at all costs.
B) terminate her pregnancy.
C) terminate her pregnancy at viability.
D) terminate her pregnancy at fifteen weeks.

Question 58

The Following Questions For Readings: Planned Parenthood v. Casey, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court found that the trimester framework established in Roe v. Wade was

A) necessary.
B) based on good legal reasoning.
C) reasonable.
D) unnecessary.

Question 59

The Following Questions For Readings: Planned Parenthood v. Casey, U.S. Supreme Court
-In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court found that not all burdens on the right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy are

A) appropriate.
B) undue.
C) intelligible.
D) sensible.