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Abortion Bioethics Chronic pain Fetal pain Philosophy

Pain as Fact and Heuristic

If you are like me, you aren’t sure what “heuristic” means. According to multiple sources, it is an experience-based technique for problem solving. In her new article,Pain as Fact and Heuristic: How Pain Neuroimaging Illuminates Moral Dimensions of Law, Professor Amanda C. Pustilnik argues against a simple understanding of physical pain as a justification for […]

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Abortion Philosophy

Frank Beckwith’s commentary on Thomson’s “A Defense of Abortion”

Here is a link to Frank Beckwith’s recent column discussing Judith Jarvis Thomson’s famous article entitled “A Defense of Abortion.” http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2011/thomsons-defense-of-abortion-at-forty.html In the article, Thomson presented the violinist analogy.  Frank’s discussion in this column  criticizes Thomson’s analogy for “not really granting the pro-life view of persoonhood.” He concludes this column with this paragraph:  “Because of these institutions and ways […]

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Abortion Bioethics Contraception Health Care Reform Philosophy Politics Sexual practices

Contraception, health, and desire

Andrew Haines makes basically the same point apropos of Tollefson’s essay as I did the other day. And here’s just one more way of putting it that occurred to me this morning. I think it’s safe to say that we have a natural desire for health (and even a natural inclination to health – I […]

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Abortion Bioethics Conscience protection Contraception Health Care Reform Philosophy Politics Presidential Actions

Yet another item on the Obama contraception mandate

Here is Prof. Christopher Tollefsen: “Contraception and Healthcare Rights.” I think it’s pretty carefully thought out and argued (one possible quibble based on a quick first reading would be with the “great gravity and urgency” criterion, though that probably has nothing to do with the point about contraception). And I think Tollefsen implicitly points to […]

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Abortion Bioethics Philosophy

Waldron on “Equal Moral Status”

Jeremy Waldron has posted a paper arguing that the idea of every human being having “equal moral status” is useful only if we distinguish between “sortal” and “condition” status. He notes that the paper was originally prepared for the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. He explains “sortal” and “condition” status this […]

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Abortion Bioethics Conscience protection Contraception Death and dying Fetal anomolies and disabilities Medical abortion Organ Donation Philosophy Sexual practices Women's health

Speaking of the National Catholic Bioethics Center …

The new (Summer 2011) issue of their National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly arrived in my mailbox the other day. A few things of note from the contents: The “Colloquy” section includes an exchange of letters regarding an article in a previous NCBQ critical of philospher Fr. Martin Rhonheimer’s recent Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics: A Virtue Approach to […]

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Abortion Conscience protection Contraception Health Care Reform Philosophy Politics Presidential Actions Religious views Sexual practices University Faculty for Life

One more post on the contraception-coverage mandate

Yesterday I linked Helen Alvaré’s comments on the recent Obama Admin decision. Here are a couple of additional pieces. One is political scientist Michael New’s “Our Fears Are Realized.” Prof. New has presented some of his research on the effects of abortion laws at a UFL conference. Another is by Greg Pfundstein: “The Misguided Birth-Control […]

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Abortion Conscience protection Contraception Health Care Reform Philosophy Religious views Sexual practices University Faculty for Life

The Obama Admin, contraception, and conscience

Rather belatedly adding my first post to the UFL blog, and following up on Richard Myers’s post just below, here are a couple of good recent pieces by Prof. Helen Alvaré – formerly of the USCCB, now of George Mason Univ. School of Law – regarding the Administration’s decision to require health insurers to cover […]

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Abortion Bioethics Clinic regulation Philosophy Women's health

Requirements of Informed Consent Limit Autonomy?

Arthur Kaplan argues that opposing telemedicine abortion is irresponsible here. He argues that abortion providers have a right to determine the information that a patient needs with no “interference” by state legislatures. Curiously he justifies this return to a paternalistic notion of medical cares by a demand for patient autonomy. It appears he has little […]

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Abortion Bioethics Philosophy

Libertarian Debate over “Evictionism”

Yesterday I posted a brief comment, Allowing the Unborn to Live While Respecting Women’s Free Will,” on a law review article arguing that the means of abortion should be limited to those which provide the greatest opportunity for the unborn child to flourish while respecting the woman’s right to control her own body. It appears […]