Journal article
MORAL REASONING AND POLITICAL-CONFLICT - THE ABORTION CONTROVERSY
J KELLEY, MDR EVANS, B HEADEY
BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY | ROUTLEDGE | Published : 1993
DOI: 10.2307/591412
Abstract
We argue that the abortion controversy has one major source--religion--and two less important ones--attitudes towards sexual permissiveness and women's employment. Traditional Christianity promotes opposition to abortion using three distinct modes of moral reasoning: through deductive moral reasoning, by the Christian world view's implication that abortion violates the sanctity of life and is a rebellion against God's design; through authoritative moral reasoning by appeal to Catholic dogma; and through consequentialist moral reasoning, as a means of control over sexuality and as a means of confining women's activities to the home. Even aside from Christian belief, adherence to traditional m..
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