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. 2013 May;39(5):261-3.
doi: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100411. Epub 2012 Mar 2.

After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Alberto Giubilini  1 , Francesca Minerva
Affiliations
Free article

After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Alberto Giubilini et al. J Med Ethics. 2013 May.
Free article

Abstract

Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus' health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call 'after-birth abortion' (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.

Keywords: Abortion; adoption; allocation of healthcare resources; enhancement; euthanasia; in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer; infanticide; potentiality; religious ethics.

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