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Subhumans, human flourishing and abortion: a reply to Räsänen
  1. Calum Miller
  1. Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Calum Miller, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK; c.miller{at}oxon.org

Abstract

In a recent article, I argued that all humans are morally equal, and that this generates an argument against abortion. Here, I defend my argument against two objections from Räsänen: that it is possible to ground equal human value in the ability to flourish in a particular kind of way, and that being human is not, in fact, a binary property in the way needed for the argument to work. I show that this proposed criterion for grounding human value falls prey to my original argument, and that Räsänen’s attempt to conceive of subhuman entities fails.

  • Abortion - Induced
  • Human Rights
  • Embryos and Fetuses

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Footnotes

  • Contributors CM is the sole author of this work.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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