In honor of the Irish referendum today, here’s my analysis of the abortion issue, which revolves around three questions:
1. When does a fetus become a person? This is frequently framed as a question about when life begins, but that’s stupid; a fertilized egg is alive, but it may or may not be a person. There are two perspectives on this question. The traditional religious view is that a fertilized egg is, indeed, a person; this is based either on the assumption that a human soul (which is, of course, intangible) is created at conception, or on carrying forward the historical ignorance of the biology of a fetus. The second model is biological, and revolves around the ability of the fetus to function as a human being independent of the mother. That requires the fetus to have all of the usual human organs, and for them to work.
2. What are the interests to be considered in the debate? There are four parties with interests to be considered and balanced. The fetus itself has an interest in its own life; that interest becomes more compelling as it grows and becomes more functional on its own. The mother has a myriad of emotional, physical health, and financial interests in the decision to give birth; for some, these include the argument that abortion rights are necessary to give her the same sexual autonomy that a man enjoys. The father has a less compelling interest in fatherhood. Finally, society, in addition to all of these other interests, has legitimate concerns about public costs inevitably attributable to unwanted children, and may want to either encourage or discourage children based on demographic and environmental issues.
3. Who makes the decision? In some countries, this decision would be left primarily to religious institutions. For the most part, it is a question left to the legislature. In the US, authority over the issue was divided between legislatures and the judicial system after the Roe decision. In Ireland, the question is being addressed in a referendum.
Where do I stand? I support the biological model, think the interests of the mother and society are paramount in the relatively early stages of the development of the fetus, and believe that balancing interests is a task for legislatures. In other words, I would characterize Roe as wise, but legally inappropriate, judicial intervention in the political process. If I were Irish, I would vote yes in the referendum.