Viability
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Viability is the most commonly chosen point after which abortion becomes impermissible, or at least a very serious moral issue.

But why is viability morally important? One possibility is that we have an obligation to exercise our rights in a way that minimizes harm to others. If you could easily subdue someone who was stealing your car, you would not be justified in killing him. If you had to kill a person (or an animal) to protect your spouse, you would not be justified in torturing him (or it) as well. We could call this the principle of least harm.

Does this principle require a woman terminating a pregnancy to allow a viable child to be born (through surgery) rather than abort it? Is the fetus a party to which this principle applies? It would seem that this principle only applies to persons or parties with strong rights. If you believe that the late term fetus is such a party, explain why. If not, why does its viability matter?

Even if a woman is obligated to allow a viable child to be removed alive rather than aborted, it is not clear that this rule resolves the problem. Viability is put forward as a time prior to which abortion is permissible. Why is this true? Is there something about the fetus before viability that reduces its moral status or enhances the mother's right to abort? Why should we believe that it is permissible to abort a child two weeks before it is viable?

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