Life Before Birth

Abstract
Every day issues raise the question of the moral status of the unborn; are embryos and fetuses part of the pregnant woman or are they persons? Are they sources for tissue, research tools, or are they pre-born children? Different conceptions of the unborn prevail in different contexts, giving rise to the charge of inconsistency. This book provides a framework for thinking clearly and coherently about the unborn. The first chapter elaborates the book’s basic idea, that all, and only, beings who have interests have moral standing, and only beings who posses conscious awareness have interests. This thesis, which is called “the interest view”, raises issues of considerable philosophical complexity, but is presented in language non-philosophers will be able to understand. Subsequent chapters apply the interest view, and explore the moral and legal aspects of a wide range of issues, including abortion, the legal status of the fetus outside abortion, maternal-fetal conflict, fetal research, and the use and disposition of extracorporeal embryos resulting from the new reproductive technologies. The philosophical discussion is enlivened by examples and actual cases which immediately catch, and sustain, the reader’s interest. Written in a lively style, this is a timely and important work that enables us to resolve contradictions in our current thinking about the unborn, and to approach new issues in a clear and rational manner.

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