On the immorality of abortion. The coherence of convictions, biological humanity, and just interest
Abstract
A common argument against the legalization of abortion is that it uses a double standard, one for adults and another for human embryos. However, the effectiveness of this strategy lies not in the acceptance of a particular definition of humanity, but in the criteria for being a person. I develop and justify one version of the theory of interest as a possible explanation of the origin and function of moral status, and show that this theory is not in agreement with the claims of opponents of abortion, even when they make use of the notion of potentiality.