PEDIATRICS Vol. 72 No. 1 July 1983, pp. 128-129
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Sanctity of Life or Quality of Life?

PETER SINGER MA, BPHIL, FAHA1

1 Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia 3168

The ethical outlook that holds human life to be sacrosanct—I shall call it the "sanctity-of-life view"—is under attack. The first major blow to the sanctity of life view was the spreading acceptance of abortion throughout the Western world. Supporters of the sanctity-of-life view have pointed out that some premature babies are less developed than some of the fetuses that are killed in late abortions. They add, very plausibly, that the location of the fetus/infant—inside or outside the womb—cannot make a crucial difference to its moral status. Allowing abortions, especially these late abortions, therefore does seem to breach our defense of the allegedly universal sanctity of innocent human life.




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A. Goldworth and D. K. Stevenson
The Real Challenge of "Baby Doe": Considering the Sanctity and Quality of Life
Clinical Pediatrics, March 1, 1989; 28(3): 119 - 122.
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