Two Dogmas of Pro-Life Metaphysics

I criticize two core assumptions held by most of my fellow pro-lifers. The first so-called “dogma” is the belief that it is a sufficient condition for the wrongness of abortion that there is an entity in the womb identical to the postnatal person leading a valuable life. The second dogma is that a necessary condition for the wrongness of abortion is that beings of our fundamental kind are present in the womb at the time of abortion. Both dogmas are false. There could be entities identical to postnatal persons who wouldn’t have been harmed or wronged if destroyed before they developed sophisticated minds associated with persons. There also could be mindless embryonic animals distinct from us persons who would have been greatly harmed and wronged if destroyed when it the womb.