RE L 225: Th e P h i losop h y of Re li g i on

Individua lis m v. C om m unita ria nis m S p e e d da ting f or A m e ric a

In honor of our upcoming national election, and in light of the legacies we have inherited from their intellectual sparring, we will apply Kants preference for individual autonomy and Hegels emphasis on community to two election issues: womens rights and the right to die. We will divide ourselves in two camps: the individualists and the communitarians. The individualists will represent the position prioritizing the autonomous person who seeks a particular right in law. The communitarian will represent the position prioritizing the view that such rights are not in the interest of civic society (the community). Each group will take on the hypothetical arguments for their side (listed below) and pair up with a representative from the opposing group. For 1-2 mins you will sit across from one another and argue for your position and, when the bell rings, switch seats and meet with another opposing group member. At the end of the session we will ask whether you have been convinced by your opponents argument(s) and what position our in-class democracy believes should take priority. (1) Womens Access to Abortion/Birth Control 10 United States Code 1093 Performance of abortions: restrictions (a) Restriction on Use of Funds. Funds available to the Department of Defense may not be used to perform abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term. (b) Restriction on Use of Facilities. No medical treatment facility or other facility of the Department of Defense may be used to perform an abortion except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in a case in which the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest. 2013 defense authorization bill amendment would expand these parameters, currently being held up by House Republicans Priority of the Individual o access to safe and legal abortion o access to contraception Priority of the Community o 14th amendment rights to fetuses o forced gestation, physical exams (e.g., ultrasounds) (2) Right to Die
Death with Dignity Act ballot initiative (Massachusetts, Nov 6, 2012): It is hereby declared that the public welfare requires a defined and safeguarded process by which an adult Massachusetts resident who has the capacity to make health care decisions and who has been determined by his or her attending and consulting physicians to be suffering from a terminal disease that will cause death within six months may obtain medication that the patient may self administer to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner. It is further declared that the public welfare requires that such a process be entirely voluntary on the part of all participants, including the patient, his or her physicians, and any other health care provider or facility providing services or care to the patient.

Priority of the Individual o access to safe and legal method of death in case of terminal illness Priority of the Community o legislation against assisted death on grounds of immorality