The Ethics of Abortion, Infanticide, and the Problem of the Internal Inconsistency of the Moral System

The paper presents an analysis of the ethics of abortion and infanticide. The work considers two main approaches: the argument of J.J. Thomson on the right to use his body and the absence of responsibilities regarding the fetus, and the argument about the difference in the moral status of the fetus and the adult, which are used both in the argumentation of supporters and opponents of abortion. The paper shows the fallacy of the first approach, and also, in order for the second approach to remain internally consistent, we must agree that infanticide is permissible.