de consciousness or sentience, rationality, self-awareness or self-concept, self-motivated behavior, and linguistic capacity. This conclusion, she states, "accords with Western legal tradition and commonsense morality" (Warren, 1987, p. 131).
Warren's argument that the fetus is not a person in the moral sense is a strong one, but it is telling that she concludes her essay defending the rights of women to have abortions, even of late-term fetuses. In both a moral and a social argument, she says that the rights of the woman outweigh whatever rights the late-term fetus might have.
In addition, "Women's social obligation [part of her moral obligation] is not to bear children unless conditions are favorable to the latter's health and happiness and that of other persons" (Warren, 1987, p. 139).
The problem with Warren's essay is that it does not address the moral quandary of the woman who chooses to have the abortion. If morality is the basis of
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