Ethics

Actual human life outweighs potential life. A fetus has potential life. Therefore, a woman's life outweighs a fetus’ life.  This argument can be seen throughout section 4 and is explicitly stated on page 18, “The rights of any actual person invariably outweighs those of any potential person.” The reason for this argument is because Warren believes that a woman has the right to have an abortion in order to “protect her health, happiness, freedom, and even her life.” It’s important for a woman who already has a life to be able to live it the way she wants to and be able to make decisions that will effect her own happiness and freedom. She reasons that just because a fetus has some “resemblance to a person” or just because a fetus will become a person that it does not mean that this fetus has the right to life. This is because the fetus may not be of any importance in the future, his or her life may not be of any significance compared to the life that the woman already has.