Deck 5: Abortion: the Trial of Kenneth Edelin

Question 1

Operation Rescue, as a protest against abortion, is modeled on:

A) The Rule of Rescue.
B) Civil disobedience.
C) Prayer.
D) The slippery slope.
E) Appeals to mercy.

Answer 1

Civil disobedience.

Question 2

Plan B drugs work by:

A) Preventing implantation of the embryo in the womb.
B) Preventing meeting of sperm and egg.
C) Preventing an embryo from entering the Fallopian tubes.
D) Preventing sperm from reaching eggs.
E) Preventing eggs from chemically attracting sperm.

Answer 2

Preventing implantation of the embryo in the womb.

Question 3

Philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson argues about abortion that:

A) Fetuses have an absolute right to life.
B) Fetuses have an absolute right not to be killed.
C) A right to life does not entail, in all cases, a right not to be killed.
D) Women who want abortions have a right to a dead fetus.
E) Abortion is a woman's right under any circumstances.

Answer 3

A right to life does not entail, in all cases, a right not to be killed.

Question 4

Marquis and Quinn argue against killing a fetus during an abortion based on the idea that:

A) It deprives the fetus of future cognitive experiences like those of an adult person.
B) It causes the fetus too much pain.
C) It violates the father's right to consent or dissent about the abortion.
D) It risks permanently harming the women physically.
E) It risks permanently harming the woman psychologically.

Question 5

Which of these is FALSE about the case of Kenneth Edelin?

A) He was a black physician.
B) When he did the abortion in question, he was a resident.
C) He performed the abortion in question at a public hospital.
D) He performed the abortion two days before birth of the fetus, a partial-birth abortion.
E) An experiment had been performed on the fetus before the abortion.

Question 6

In regard to the case of Kenneth Edelin, M.D., which of the following statements is true?

A) Edelin aborted a fetus in the late third trimester.
B) In this case under Massachusetts law, the fetus was a baby.
C) Edelin was acquitted by the jury.
D) Edelin was convicted by the jury, but only on the minor charge of "grave robbing," a misdemeanor.
E) Had Dr. Edelin immediately removed the fetus, the fetus might have been viable in a neonatal care nursery.

Question 7

The idea that personhood is a gradient reflects the idea that:

A) Personhood begins at conception.
B) Life begins at conception.
C) Personhood is an absolute.
D) Personhood is a continuum with increasing stages.
E) Personhood is a metaphysical discovery.

Question 8

Which of these is false about abortion laws in America?

A) Before the Civil War, it was easier to get a legal abortion than after it.
B) If the Roe vs. Wade decision were overturned, it would still be possible to get an abortion in many states because many states still have laws on the books allowing abortions.
C) The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a state to pass a law giving a father of a fetus veto over a woman's decision to abort her fetus.
D) The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a state to pass a law requiring that an abortion clinic notify a parent of a minor's decision to have an abortion.
E) In its Pennsylvania decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the essence of its (1973) Roe vs. Wade decision.

Question 9

The case of Sheri Finkbine involved:

A) Abortion by a minor.
B) Abortion after rape.
C) Abortion of a deformed fetus.
D) Abortion of a minority student.
E) Abortion in transgendered person.

Question 10

Which of these is NOT part of the Roe vs. Wade decision?

A) Requirement that a state bans abortions after viability.
B) Permission for a state to allow abortions to be performed during any trimester to protect the life of the mother.
C) Requirement that states not ban abortions during the first two trimesters.
D) Permission for a state to regulate who performs abortions and where.
E) Permission for a state to allow abortions to be performed during any time to protect the health of the mother.