One Possible Strategy
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One strategy for a rights analysis of the abortion issue can be outlined as follows:

Decide what kind (or kinds) of beings can have rights. Why people but not rocks? What about animals and redwood trees? Decide whether human embryos, fetuses, and infants are beings that can have rights. Why or why not? For any of these that can have rights, decide what rights they have. What kind of a being could have a right to life? What might such a right include or require? If an embryo or a fetus has a right to life, what exactly does it have a right to from its mother (or from you or I)? Decide what rights women have in relation to their capacity to reproduce. If embryos and/or fetuses can have rights, how do their rights relate to the rights of mothers? Look for possible conflicts, unusual circumstances, or justifications for limiting or overriding any of these rights.

Keep in mind that a rights analysis is not the only approach to moral issues in general or to the specific questions we have about abortion. You may be able to come up with a better approach. Some critics might say that a rights approach is too legalistic, too narrow, or that it contains hidden biases. What do you think?

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