From the Value of Life to Rights. Exploring the Abortion Controversy
From the Value of Life to Rights. Exploring the Abortion Controversy

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the principal philosophical and legal approaches to the issue of abortion. It begins with an analysis of Ronald Dworkin’s theory, which emphasizes the “inherent and sacred value” of life, while also addressing the critical objections raised by Nicolai Lazarev. The discussion then turns to Don Marquis’s position, which condemns abortion on the grounds of the fetus’s “loss of a future,” and to the Kantian perspective, which regards the preservation of life as an absolute duty. The article subsequently considers the arguments of Judith Thomson and Anne Warren—Thomson defending a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, and Warren distinguishing between the genetic and moral dimensions of personhood—together with the critiques advanced by Evangelos Protopapadakis. Finally, the study reflects on the landmark legal case Roe v. Wade, its subsequent reversal, and the contemporary ethical and legal challenges posed by emerging technologies such as artificial wombs.

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