Very few subjects have been more controversial and contested in American constitutional law and politics than the moral and legal status of the unborn. Even still, the issue persists and is likely to do so for the foreseeable future. In this volume, philosophers Kate Greasley and Christopher Kaczor engage in an extended debate on the matter–Abortion Rights: For and Against (Cambridge University Press).

This book features opening arguments followed by two rounds of reply between two moral philosophers on opposing sides of the abortion debate. In the initial opening essays, Kate Greasley and Christopher Kaczor lay out what they take to be the best case for and against abortion rights. In the ensuing dialogue, they engage with each other’s arguments and each responds to criticisms fielded by the other. Their conversational argument explores such fundamental questions as: what gives a person the right to life? Is abortion bad for women? And what is the difference between abortion and infanticide? Underpinned by philosophical reasoning and methodology, this book provides opposing and clearly structured perspectives on a highly emotive and controversial issue. The result gives readers a window into how moral philosophers argue about the contentious issue of abortion rights, and an in-depth analysis of the compelling arguments on both sides.