Virtue Ethics And Utilitarianism In John T. Noonan's Argument

Moral dilemmas regarding abortion and animal utility are always prominent when discussing the issue. Many factors influence one’s choice, though many others try to push their moral beliefs upon another individual as well. Both sides of the arguments in abortion and animal rights pose substantial and valid points within the realm of their own ethical theories. When making overall generalizations or summarizing in one direct statement the grounds of what makes something what, it excludes an exponential amount of other people or things. One statement can completely reverse an individual’s own moral theory within in itself. To begin the process of disproving why John T. Noonan statement to classify personhood to fetuses under one statement or

First of which that will be examined is the Virtue ethic theory. Virtue ethics in not governed by action or law, but is guided within an individual’s own set of morals. Virtue ethics as a whole does follow a loose baseline of what is deemed right or wrong, but ultimately rests on the shoulders of the individual. Unlike certain views of deontologists, virtue ethics does not try to impose on others the right moral choice regarding an issue. As the author Mary Ann Warren describes in her justification on when to classify a fetus as a person under multiple criteria will encompass all entities that require personhood. A major flaw found in Noonan’s argument is his single criteria to bestow personhood and disprove any other means to provided criteria. This flaw is that of which a fetus could develop and not have any biological abilities to conduct one’s self as a normal human being, for example a fetus that has developed without certain organs necessary to survival or to flourish. In a virtue ethic perspective, it generally is wrong to continue the unnecessary to suffering of a person. If an individual lacks the ability to apply moral judgments due to a lack of a brain and will not survive without intervention from other persons, the single criteria statement of having two human parents is