Louis Michael Seidman

A comment on Tooley's abortion and infanticide

Tushnet and Seidman attempt to show that, even if Michael Tooley is correct that fetuses have no right to life, others may have a right to their continued existence. Rights-bearing third parties with an interest in the fetus might be biological fathers, prospective adoptive parents, or even society as a whole. Criteria for assessing the legitimacy of claims of interest must be developed and then balanced against the claims of those who support abortion. The authors also discuss principles of bodily autonomy, the destruction as well as the removal of the fetus, and the question of whether legislation prohibiting abortion is mandatory, permissible, or optional.