The preference logic of Ronald Dvorkin’s conception the problem of abortion

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The preference logic of Ronald Dvorkin’s conception the problem of abortion

Journal Title: Альманах права - Year 2018, Vol 9, Issue 9

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the solution of the problem of bioethics by the method of the logic of preferences in the concept of аmerican lawyer and philosopher Ronald Dvorkin on the issue of abortion. An important place in the creative heritage of R. Dvorkin is an analysis of bioethics. In his book The Tsar of Life: An Argument Concerning Abortion, Euthanasia and Personal Freedom, R. Dvorkin draws attention to the social and medical aspects of civil rights. R. Dvorkin defends the thesis that only conscious people can have interests in preserving their lives or avoiding suffering. Before sensitivity, human fetuses do not yet have their own interests that could justify the state policy of restricting abortions. R. Dvorkin protects the constitutional rights to abortion and euthanasia – extreme situations when one has to choose between life and death. In his view, the debate on abortion contains «intellectual confusion». It comes from two different positions regarding the protection of human life. One position is that carriers of life have «interests» and «rights». For the second position, human life is evaluated as «sacred» and «inviolable ». On the basis of this «inviolability», legal restrictions on abortion until 1972 were contained in criminal law. According to R. Dvorkin, the solution to the problem of abortion depends on the value standards of society. The government can not restrict women’s rights to freedom of the body. Here are inappropriate references to religious Catholics (Pope Paul VI) and Protestant (R. Ramsey, R. Neuhaus) deniers of abortion, based on the «natural» right to life. R. Dvorkin emphasizes that all rights are «possessed», and therefore from a legal point of view, religious assessments of the meaning and holiness of life are necessarily «cont roversial». R. Dvorkin considers the humanistic ideal of «good life» and offers a liberal theory of solutions to the pressing problems arising from the desire for it, one of such problems is the question of abortion. His liberal egalitarian theory insists on the equality of everyone’s dignity and respect for her. In his concept, R. Dvorkin examines the problem of abortion in terms of conflict logic. It is possible to solve this question through the application of the logic of advantages. He stresses that every citizen has the right to be insured against imposing on the state any position regarding the religious significance of concepts of holiness or inviolability of human life. The logic of the conflict remains relevant to modern legal theory and practice. Conflict resolution is a complex process and includes many elements. It is the logic of conflict that can be useful for legal theory and practice in solving the problem of abortion in modern society.

Authors and Affiliations

Hanna Kovalenko

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EP ID EP544920
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