Changing Unjust Laws Justly

1. A Denial of Solidarity

Download PDF (197.7 KB)
pp. 15-56

Whether or not it is justified for pro-life legislators to vote for restrictive abortion legislation in a situation where there is no chance of a fully prohibitive law being enacted is ultimately resolved only by a thorough analysis of the various jurisprudential, legislative, and ethical dimensions of the question. These dimensions will be the focus of subsequent chapters. This chapter......

2. Jurisprudential Options Revisited

Download PDF (172.4 KB)
pp. 59-89

In Western societies abortion was generally regarded as a criminal offense until the 1960s if not later, so the question of how to respond to abortion laws is still a fairly new one. In this chapter I challenge some ideas that have been widely accepted in pro-life circles since the 1960s and 1970s, with a view to establishing...

3. The Problem of Intrinsically Unjust Laws

Download PDF (146.2 KB)
pp. 90-118

As Chapter 1 recounted, the British pro-life movement’s most concerted attempt to change the abortion law was made between 1987 and 1990, beginning with its support for the Abortion (Amendment) Bill, introduced by David Alton, MP, to reduce the upper limit for abortions to 18 weeks. The anticipated life-saving consequence (or effect) of the bill’s enactment was sufficient...

4. Good Acts by Bad Acts?

Download PDF (168.4 KB)
pp. 121-158

Even though all laws tolerating or permitting abortion can be identified as intrinsically unjust, as the two previous chapters have shown, and even though a negative judgment has been traditionally made against such laws, is it possible to argue that it can be ethically good (a good act) to vote for an intrinsically unjust law (a bad Act) if one is doing so for the purpose of...

5. A “Special Case” Consideration

Download PDF (122.3 KB)
pp. 159-185

In the previous chapter I argued that the identification of a law as intrinsically unjust is sufficient to judge that the act of voting for it is intrinsically unjust and never an ethically good choice. When discussing this point I have encountered the claim that the acceptance of this argument does not end discussion on the question of voting for intrinsically unjust restrictive...

6. Avoiding Ethical Inconsistencies

Download PDF (162.9 KB)
pp. 186-212

A judgment as to the moral goodness of voting for restrictive legislation requires the sort of analysis given in Chapter 4. A faulty analysis, or a failure to undertake such an analysis, may lead to the adoption of some unsatisfactory arguments in favor of restrictive abortion legislation. In this chapter I shall address arguments referring to the lesser evil, “the principle of totality,”...

7. Identifying Just and Unjust Proposals

Download PDF (164.1 KB)
pp. 215-254

I have argued that laws tolerating, permitting, or obligating abortion are intrinsically unjust, and that it is an intrinsically unjust (evil) act to vote to enact an intrinsically unjust law: a good intention of saving the lives of some unborn children does not affect the intrinsic unjustness of the legislative act of voting to enact an intrinsically unjust Act. In a situation where all abortions...

8. Voting Opportunities

Download PDF (141.9 KB)
pp. 255-286

Legislative voting involves more than voting at the final stage for a bill to be enacted as law. Legislators are faced with complex considerations, not only with respect to the justness of of a bill when it is presented for enactment but also with respect to the appropriateness of supporting a bill in its entirety at an early stage of its passage, or of supporting particular proposals, considered...

9. Evangelium Vitae

Download PDF (167.5 KB)
pp. 289-316

No magisterial text issued prior to 1995 by or with the approval of the Holy See can be cited as teaching that legislators can vote for restrictive abortion legislation. On this point there seems to be unanimous agreement. The correctness or otherwise of the widespread belief that the Holy See now teaches that...

10. An Overview and Conclusion

Download PDF (133.3 KB)
pp. 317-333

If a society is unwilling to recognize the right to life of all the unborn and to prohibit all abortions, it may nevertheless be willing to prohibit some abortions—in particular, late abortions and those undertaken for what some regard as insufficiently serious reasons. As Chapter 1 described, unborn children...

A. The UK Abortion Law Prior to the Abortion Act 1967

Download PDF (63.6 KB)
pp. 335-336

B. Abortion Act 1967

Download PDF (45.1 KB)
pp. 337-340

C. Abortion (Amendment) Bill (January 1988)

Download PDF (40.9 KB)
pp. 341-342

D. Abortion (Amendment) Bill (May 1988)

Download PDF (41.7 KB)
pp. 343-344

E. Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990

Download PDF (41.3 KB)
pp. 345-346