The Life of the Mother
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Many people who are mainly opposed to abortion allow an exception for those cases in which pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. But if you have taken a strong position on the rights of the embryo or the fetus you must explain how you can justify such an exception.

If both mother and child have the same right to life, how can we justifiably and repeatedly choose the life of the mother over the life of the child? Some philosophers have suggested allowing nature to take its course. (Then at least we do not kill anyone.) Others have suggested that we should give each party an equal chance to live (in effect, we should flip a coin).

Is there anything about the mother that would justify consistently favoring her over her child? If so, what is it?

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