Deck 12: Virtue Theory and Abortion

Question 1

Rosalind Hursthouse doesn't fit the stereotype of either the "pro-life" or "pro-choice" advocate. Summarize those two stereotypes, and then explain why Hursthouse doesn't fit either of them. Then, explain how Hursthouse would justify not being stereotypically "pro-life" or "pro-choice."

Answer 1

Offer stereotypical characterizations of the "pro-life" or "pro-choice" positions and their proponents.
Accurately explain why Hursthouse doesn't fit into either camp-e.g., she isn't flatly pro-life because she thinks some abortions are morally permissible that don't involve threats to the life of the mother, rape, etc.; she isn't flatly pro-life because she thinks that women can act wrongly by getting abortions.
Explain why Hursthouse thinks that virtue ethics leads us to think differently about the abortion issue.

Question 2

Imagine that your friend gets pregnant unintentionally. (The condom broke. We're not talking about rape.) In the first part of your paper, summarize your friend's circumstances-her relationship status, where she is in her degree, her financial means, her family support, and so on. In the second half of your paper, discuss how Rosalind Hursthouse might both (a) assess what your friend has done already and (b) advise your friend about how to move forward. In other words, you need to (a) explain whether your friend has made any moral mistakes already and (b) discuss the virtues and vices that are relevant to your friend's decision about her pregnancy.

Answer 2

Tell a reasonably-detailed story about the pregnant friend.
Accurately apply Hursthouse's ideas to that story.
Demonstrate understanding of virtue and vice concepts that would allow recommendations for future action.

Question 3

Rosalind Hursthouse says that the decision to have an abortion can sometimes be "the reflection of a moral failing." Someone might object to this by saying that this amounts to shaming women who make these decisions. In the first part of your paper, do your best to explain why someone might take that view. Then, in the second part of your paper, do your best to reply to this objection on Hursthouse's behalf.

Answer 3

A good paper will:
Demonstrate the ability to reconstruct a view-in this case, the view that moral criticism is equivalent to shaming.
Demonstrate the ability to think creatively about how Hursthouse might reply to an objection that she doesn't consider in her essay by arguing either (a) that shaming isn't always wrong or (b) that moral criticism isn't (or needn't be) equivalent to shaming.

Question 4

From the perspective of virtue theory, the right to have an abortion ________:

A) Determines whether it's moral to have an abortion
B) Is irrelevant to whether it's moral to have an abortion
C) Determines whether the father may object to an abortion
D) Is irrelevant to whether the father may object to an abortion
E) Determines whether it should be illegal to have an abortion

Question 5

On Hursthouse's view, why does it matter whether an abortion occurs earlier or later in the pregnancy?

A) Our emotions and attitudes toward the fetus change as it develops
B) The moral status of the fetus changes as it develops
C) The fetus acquires rights when its brain reaches a certain developmental mark
D) Other people will judge a late-stage abortion more harshly
E) It may become more dangerous to have an abortion later on

Question 6

What does Hursthouse say about the question, "what is the status of the fetus?"

A) It is the most important question in the abortion debate
B) It is a psychological question
C) It is an ill-informed question
D) It is an epistemological question
E) It is a metaphysical question

Question 7

What does Hursthouse have to say about the physical conditions involved in pregnancy?

A) Pregnancy is not just one physical condition among many
B) Pregnancy is fundamentally one physical condition among many
C) People overstate the importance of physical considerations in pregnancy
D) Anyone who avoids pregnancy because it's a physical condition is light-minded
E) Anyone who thinks about pregnancy as a physical condition is light-minded

Question 8

On Hursthouse's view, it would be wrong to get an abortion if it is done in what way?

A) Callously
B) Generously
C) Mercifully
D) Sadly
E) Arrogantly

Question 9

According to Hursthouse, it isn't always a matter of some seriousness to cut off a human life.

Question 10

Hursthouse claims that all women who have abortions will come to regret their decisions later in life.

Question 11

On Hursthouse's view, what is the problem with focusing on a woman's right to her own life?

A) Rights are just a useful fiction
B) Rights are social constructs
C) It ignores the fetus's rights
D) It ignores the father's rights
E) It ignores the kind of life she's living

Question 12

Hursthouse affirms that in cases where the decision to have an abortion is the right one ________:

A) Joy and pride are the only appropriate responses
B) It is still appropriate to judge the woman who had it
C) It can still be the reflection of a moral failing
D) Guilt is not an appropriate response
E) All of the above

Question 13

Hursthouse claims that all those who avoid parenthood are irresponsible and selfish.