Secular Pro-Life
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet The Team
    • Mission and Vision
    • Stances
      • Abortion
      • Religion
      • Contraception
      • The Rape Exception
  • Content
    • Index
    • Blog
    • Myths
    • Research
      • Abortion Law and Abortion Rates
      • Abortion Law and Pregnancy Rates
      • Later Abortion
      • Embryonic Hearts
      • Abortion Views and Gender
    • Collections
      • For the biology textbook tells me so
      • Fixed that meme for you
      • They can hear you
      • Parents can hear you
      • Our children’s heartbeats
      • Becoming Pro-Life
    • Publications
      • Overview Brochure
      • Why Secular People Should Care
    • Store
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Donor Opportunities
    • Why support SPL?
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

A Kantian Analysis of Bodily Autonomy

August 11, 2015/1 Comment/in Bodily Rights, Philosophy /by Clinton Wilcox

Bodily autonomy. It’s a term that has essentially lost all meaning in our culture today. Not because it doesn’t have an objective meaning, but because the cry for “bodily autonomy” (e.g. “my body, my choice”) has been accepted uncritically as a modern slogan, despite most pro-choice people being unable to defend the proposition that bodily autonomy justifies abortion. Pro-choice people assume (through repetition, usually without argument) that the child’s dependency upon the mother and location inside her body gives her the moral right to have the child killed. But in absolutely no other context can I use my right to bodily autonomy, ipso facto, to justify killing someone, nor does someone else’s dependency upon me give me the right to kill them. It’s usually quite the opposite: if someone is dependent on me for survival, and I must use my body to help them, it gives me a greater obligation to help them.

Immanuel Kant was an agnostic philosopher. Notably, he rejected Realism (which I hold to), but even so I believe he offered valuable insight. Kant argued that we are rational agents, and as such morals must be grounded in reason alone. He was one of the earliest philosophers (that I’m aware of) to speak in terms of autonomy. Kant argued that we should follow what he calls the principle of autonomy (auto-nomos, which means “self-legislating). As R. Scott Smith, in his book In Search of Moral Knowledge: Overcoming the Fact-Value Dichtomy (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2014, p.94), wrote:

In our context, ‘autonomy’ often implies that each person decides what is right for him or her. Clearly, though, Kant was not a relativist. For him, we are to be self-legislating and develop maxims, or plans of action, that are to command us categorically. Moreover, we are to will to universalize them. Thus, they are binding independently of our desires, consequences or other experiences. By acting autonomously, we do our duty for duty’s sake, out of pure respect for the moral law.

Again, Kant was not a relativist. Since we are rational agents, that means that we are bound to the moral law. Rational agents are intrinsically valuable, meaning they are valuable in and of themselves. Another way of saying this is that they are an end unto themselves. So one of our duties is that we are never to treat other rational agents as purely a means to an end (in other words, as purely a means to get something else that we desire). They are always to be treated as an end, themselves. This means that all human beings have human dignity. Abortion treats the unborn as a means to an end, not an end unto themselves. This means that if you really do hold to bodily autonomy, you should also hold that abortion is immoral. Having bodily autonomy means you have the right to follow your duty as a rational agent, not that you have the right to do whatever you want regardless of how it affects other people.

The next time someone talks about how bodily autonomy justifies, remind them that while bodily autonomy is very important, there are limitations to it, just like there are limitations to most of our rights.

Related Posts

Tags: bodily rights, philosophy
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
  • Link to Instagram
https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png 0 0 Clinton Wilcox https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png Clinton Wilcox2015-08-11 11:27:002023-02-14 15:12:53A Kantian Analysis of Bodily Autonomy
You might also like
New Video Challenges “Bodily Autonomy” Argument for Abortion
What is Wrong With Abortion? A Philosophical Case
Taking a Symmetrical View of Human Life
Why Focusing On the Unborn Child is So Crucial
Why I am Agnostic and Pro-life
The Balance
What’s in a Category?
The Case of the Imaginary Violinist
1 reply
  1. Unknown
    Unknown says:
    October 10, 2020 at 3:22 am

    Consider infant circumcision (which affects males only, at least in the USA and Australia). That child has no right to their whole genitals and therefore a completely satisfying sex life since they are missing nerve-rich genital tissue from this unnecessary and extremely barbaric "medical" procedure…which has no medical justification whatsoever.

    No one can claim that society cares about bodily autonomy unless this vile sickening practice is outlawed and recognised for what it is – infant genital mutilation.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow via Email

* indicates required

Categories

  • Ableism
  • Administrative
  • Adoption and Foster Care
  • Biology
  • Bodily Rights
  • en español
  • Late-Term Abortion
  • Legislation, laws, and court cases
  • Medication Abortion
  • Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss
  • Personhood
  • Philosophy
  • Pro-Life Demographics
  • Rape Exception
  • Religion
  • Research
  • SPL Emails
  • Uncategorized
  • We Asked You Answered
  • Your Stories

Archive

As the national conversation on abortion intensifies, it’s more important than ever that we demonstrate that anyone can–and everyone should–oppose abortion. Thanks to you, we are working to change minds, transform our culture, and protect our prenatal children. Every donation supports our ability to provide nonsectarian, nonpartisan arguments against abortion. Please donate today.

DONATE
© Copyright 2023 Secular Pro-Life. All rights reserved. Website Design by TandarichGroup

Related Posts

The roots of adoption stigma Valuing the lives of the elderly
Scroll to top