Reading guide for “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion” by Mary Anne Warren

Word process your responses.

1. Write a reference entry for Warren’s essay.

2. Paraphrase the premise of Warren’s argument and note the page number.

3. Explain the distinction Warren makes about one’s body and one’s property.

4. Explain Warren’s phrase “potential personhood.”

5. Explain the difference between an unwanted pregnancy caused by rape and any other

unwanted pregnancy.

6. How does Warren use Thomson’s analogy to the famous, unconscious violinist?

7. How does Warren define “human?” Distinguish between the moral sense of the question

and the genetic sense.

8. Paraphrase the question at the beginning of the section “Defining the Moral Community.”

9. List the traits that Warren considers essential to personhood. Are there any traits you would

delete or add?

10. Explain the analogy of the space explorer in the context of the argument.

11. What might constitute an overwhelming social need for “every possible child?”