On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion - Mary Anne Warren

The definition of human has two distinct senses that arent often distinguished
Defining moral community moral community consists of all and only people
Traits which are central to personhood consist of:
o Consciousness and particular ability to feel pain
o Reasoning
o Self-motivated activity
o Capacity to communicate
o Presence of self-concepts and self-awareness
Supposing that the above are sufficient in determining personhood then genetic humanity is not
necessary for determining whether something is human or not
According to those 5 conditions an 8 or 7 month fetus is no more significantly personlike than an
embryo even though it resembles a baby. Therefore it does not have the same rights as a mature
human being
Rights of an actual person outweighs rights of potential persons




A Third Way - Sumner