Abortion is nothing like hiring a hitman, whatever Pope Francis says

Abortion is nothing like hiring a hitman, whatever Pope Francis says

October 11, 2018
Arianne Shahvisi, Lecturer in Ethics, University of Sussex

Pope Francis has compared having an abortion to “hiring a hitman to resolve a problem”. The leader of the Catholic Church made the comment during a speech in which he declared that it is always wrong to end a human life. While this has always been the line taken by the church, this comparison condemns abortion in particularly strong terms.

Some careful reasoning shows that comparing abortion with contract murder equates two acts that are far from obviously morally equivalent. To begin with, it would be a challenge to find a person who thinks that cold-blooded murder, of the sort carried out by hitmen, is morally acceptable.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/abortion-is-nothing-like-hiring-a-hitman-whatever-pope-francis-says-104741