Introduction
The debate over the issue of abortion is intense and involves many doctors, ethicists, policymakers, and researchers all over the world. Medical journals are full of controversial articles which defend the perspectives of opponents or proponents of abortion. Hendricks convincingly argues against the expulsion of a fetus and presents a strong argument in his article, though the researcher ignores the crucial point of the personhood of a fetus.
Main body
On the one hand, Hendricks successfully presents his idea and answers to some objections to it. He does not discuss the question of whether a fetus is a person or not, as it is difficult to defend any of the positions. Instead, he concentrates on the fact that people consider giving a fetus FAS (Fetus Alcohol Syndrome) to be immoral. Therefore, according to the researcher, it is logical to think that killing a fetus is unethical as well (Hendricks, 2019). Hendricks also answers to common objections such as giving FAS is not immoral or killing better than torturing by proving their controversy; thus, the article appears to be impeccable.
On the other hand, his work has a significant weakness, as Hendricks does not pay attention to the question of the personhood of a fetus. FAS not only impairs a fetus but also spoils a person’s life, as it causes different physical and mental issues. However, abortion is an expulsion of a fetus, which does not harm an individual, as the author does not prove that a fetus is a person. Moreover, abortion can make a life of a pregnant woman better or even prevent her from pregnancy complications.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hendricks’ article has strengths as well as weaknesses. The researcher presents a convincing argument and answers different objections to it with more evidence. Although, he cannot state that abortion is immoral because FAS is immoral, as the former harms nobody, while the latter spoils the lives of a mother and child. Therefore, Hendricks should prove that a fetus is a person at first and then make such a conclusion.
Reference
Hendricks, P. (2019). Even if the fetus is not a person, abortion is immoral: The impairment argument. Bioethics, 33(2), 245-253.