Beyond the Binary: Religious Bioethical Analysis of Post-Dobbs Abortion Legislation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Publication Title
JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS
Abstract
"Settled casuistry" refers to cases, such as an ectopic pregnancy, whose relevant moral principles and accompanying applications are established as morally legitimate. After the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization US Supreme Court ruling, fearful medical professionals in states with new, far-stricter abortion restrictions are no longer engaged in "best-practices" maternal medical care in problematic pregnancies. Legal exceptions, if they exist, are often poorly formulated, denied, or delayed. Often the accompanying political rhetoric is simply cast in a binary of "pro-life" vs. "pro-death." This essay considers several of these illustrative cases, which settled casuistry would have allowed for termination. A reconsideration of some of these poorly formulated legislative efforts by looking specifically at their underlying implicit theological, philosophical, and political assumptions, and with the insights of this settled casuistry, may help to refocus, refine, and/or in some cases reject these political legislative efforts by bringing them into greater concord with the common good.
Recommended Citation
Bretzke, James S.J., "Beyond the Binary: Religious Bioethical Analysis of Post-Dobbs Abortion Legislation" (2024). 2024 Faculty Bibliography. 28.
https://collected.jcu.edu/fac_bib_2024/28
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