Science
can determine the sort of facts that you point out. And the facts may
be relevant to reaching a conclusion about the morality of abortion
(or particular abortions). But my point is that it isn't science that
tells us that these facts are relevant.
Take the viability of the fetus, for example. Science can usually
tell us whether the fetus can live outside its mother. So far so
good. But we believe that viability is relevant to a moral decision
about abortion because of a different kind of argument. It isn't
science that tells us that the mother cannot have the fetus aborted if
it is viable. We need a complex set of moral concepts and principles
to reach that conclusion.
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