Position paper 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Position paper 1 - Assignment Example Biologists hold that human embryos are human beings at an early stage of development. For Yelena and Yury, although the pregnancy was accidental, the mere fact that they are members of the human species dictate that they have the moral responsibility to facilitate rather than retard the internally directed development of the persisting human being. Whereas George and Lee (2005) claim that human beings are capable of consciousness and experience that empowers them to make greater claims than human embryos, such a claim is flawed and fallacious. Firstly, during the embryonic stage, our conscious and personality were already fully formed since character is shaped at this early stage. As such, we were not human non-persons but human persons with all the psychological attributes. The mere fact that human embryos lack experience does not reduce it to a nonperson. We possessed intrinsic worth and human dignity since then, a factor that gives the embryo the right to grow and develop. This di gnity is not dependent on inadvertent attributes such as IQ, age, size, or skin color but is rather intrinsic due to the entities we are. Hence, while Yelena and Yury undertook significant measures to prevent the abortion, but it still occurred, it is unethical to terminate the life of the developing individual. It must be accorded the respect and dignity that it deserves since we also want to be treated with respect and dignity; it is not a ‘lesser’ human being. Honourably, Callahan (1986) strives to condemn those who justify abortion by claiming that the fetus is a biological parasite that continuously takes resources from a female’s body. Evidently, this is a pro-choice feminist argument that overly exaggerates the fact that during the 9-month period, the mother’s energies and whole life will be actively involved in the development of the embryo to a baby. Callahan (1986) understands that such a