In debate on abortion, philosophers dispute basis for recognizing human rights October 22, 2010
Bioethicist Peter Singer argued that a human baby "has no moral status because he is not self-aware," during a debate on abortion at Princeton University.
Singer's debate opponent, Oxford philosophy professor John Finnis, responded that human rights are not created or conferred by government or by society; they are only recognized, he said—because the rights are prior to the authority of government.
Finnis objected to the use of the term "fetus" to refer to an unborn child, saying that the use of the term is a way of disguise the human identity of the child. A pregnant woman, he pointed out, invariably speaks of her "baby."
Singer, however, goes far beyond the familiar arguments justifying the destruction of a "fetus." The Princeton professor argues that even a born child can be justifiably killed, because only self-awareness provides the moral status that others must recognize.
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