In response to the publication of a draft decision by Justice Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the courts 1973 decision in Roe v Wade. See
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/abortion-draft-supreme-court-opinion-key-passages-00029470 and https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/read-justice-alito-initial-abortion-opinion-overturn-roe-v-wade-pdf-00029504 .
1
If one were to hold that the fetus in the womb is a human being, a person, then feticide would be homicide. Abortion would be manslaughter and perhaps murder.
If so, how could one permit abortion in cases where pregnancy resulted from rape or incest? How could one permit abortion in cases where the fetus represents a threat to the health of the mother?
Some opponents of abortion articulate such a position. Shouldn’t they, if they think that the fetus is a person?
Shouldn’t they be worried that a pregnant woman might elect to abort? What could they do to ensure that this won’t happen? Should they check her mail to ensure there are no abortifacients there? Should they hack into her email and track her phone calls?
Shouldn’t they be concerned that women of childbearing age might be pregnant? Once she shows signs of puberty until she is 50, should they subject her occasionally - perhaps monthly - to an ultrasound?
If she is determined to be pregnant, should they control her movement, activities, diet, and medications? Should she be allowed to play sports? To take painkillers? To work?
2
If one holds with Justice Alito that the reasoning of Roe was ‘egregiously wrong from the start,’ what of other cases that share some of the same reasoning? Granted that Justice Alito takes pains to limit his draft decision to the issue of abortion, why stop there?
Why not call into question the right to purchase contraceptives? The right to have same-sex marriage?
If we are in the business of calling into question the wisdom of those who preceded us, why not reconsider the question of interracial marriage? Why not question the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act? Why not revisit Brown v Board of Education?