Changing Unjust Laws Justly: Pro-Life Solidarity with "The Last and Least"

CONTENTS

C O N T E N T S Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 PART I. PRACTICAL REALITIES OF RESTRICTING ABORTION 1. A Denial of Solidarity 15 General Features of Abortion Laws / 17 Legislative Campaigns to Prohibit Late Abortions / 20 Campaigning to Stop “Abortion on Demand” / 41 The Exclusion of Disabled Unborn Children as a Paradigm of the Denial of Solidarity / 47 Exclusions or Solidarity? / 54 PART II. A QUESTION OF LAW 2. Jurisprudential Options Revisited 59 The Three Basic Jurisprudential Options / 59 The Seven Jurisprudential Options / 72 Legal “Permission” and Legal “Toleration” / 78 3. The Problem of Intrinsically Unjust Laws 90 Law: Justness and Unjustness / 90 Responding to Intrinsically Unjust Laws / 103 PART III. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 4. Good Acts by Bad Acts? 121 Material Cooperation and Side Effects / 122 Intentions and Consequences / 131 Veritatis splendor, n. 78, on the Moral Object / 140 An Analysis of Voting / 151 5. A “Special Case” Consideration 159 The Concept of “Anti-Abortion Politics” / 161 “Corrupted” Systems and Oath Swearing / 168 The Context of the Restrictive Law / 174 A Different Kind of “Special Case” / 178 A Return to the “Object” / 181 Form and Matter / 184 6. Avoiding Ethical Inconsistencies 186 The Lesser Evil / 186 The Principle of Totality / 202 The Law of Gradualness / 206 PART IV. LEGISLATIVE MATTERS 7. Identifying Just and Unjust Proposals 215 Primary and Secondary Aspects of Abortion Laws / 218 A Typical Abortion Act / 222 A Range of Legislative Proposals / 235 A Consideration of Side Effects / 248 8. Voting Opportunities 255 The Unborn Children (Protection) Bill of 1980 / 257 The Unborn Children (Protection) Bill of 1982 / 263 The Abortion Bill of 1986 / 266 The Abortion (Amendment) Bill of 1992 / 273 The Abortion (Amendment) Bill of 1995 / 275 The Human Embryo (Protection) Bill of 2000 / 279 Voting Opportunities: A Summary / 283 viii contents PART V. MAGISTERIAL TEACHING AND A CONCLUSION 9. Evangelium Vitae 289 Reading Evangelium vitae, nn. 73 and 90, in Context / 289 Understanding Evangelium vitae, n. 73 / 295 Questions Posed by Evangelium vitae, n. 73 / 301 Evangelium vitae, n. 90 / 308 Authoritative Clarifications of Evangelium vitae, n. 73 / 310 10. An Overview and Conclusion 317 APPENDICES A. The UK Abortion Law Prior to the Abortion Act 1967 / 335 B. Abortion Act 1967 / 337 C. Abortion (Amendment) Bill (January 1988) / 341 D. Abortion (Amendment) Bill (May 1988) / 343 E. Section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 / 345 Bibliography 347 Index 359 contents ix ...