The Influence Of John Locke On Abortion

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Abortion has been a widely debated and controversial issue which has made headlines in the 21st century. Abortion is a human’s rights issue, and it takes place when one decides to terminate human pregnancy. Canada is one of the few countries which has no criminal law when it comes to abortion. In Canada our law against abortion was liberalized in 1969 and was dismissed by the supreme court of Canada entirely in 1988. Although abortion is not limited by criminal law but by the Canada Health Act. There are only surprisingly only 3 other countries which have this stance on abortion and these countries are Canada, North Korea and China. John Locke was the founder of school of thought. According to John Locke and his theory of property, humans have …show more content…

he has not liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession.” (2nd treatise of Civil Government, sec 6). Locke here has made clear argument that, even in the state of nature, there is an aversion to the harming of others without a “more noble” cause. This is not to say that Locke would necessarily be against an abortion that was to save the life of the mother or to quarantine an alien virus, both causes be more noble. “All men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another, and the law of nature be observed, which willeth the peace and preservation of all mankind.”(2nd Treatise on Civil Government, sec 7). The main question that arises is which of these sought after attributes is more important to Locke. A lack of peace will kill as surely as an abortion. The abortion, in it's most singular form, only really effects two individuals, while a lack of peace can cause entire states to fall. It is also very hard to judge the inevitable emotional effect, as any decision of this magnitude does, that an abortion will have on those involved that have to live with the reality of the situation. John Locke was a product of his environment is rhetorical and a non-issue. Everyone who has ever lived is the product of their environment and it cannot be held against them, but it can be used to help understand them. In Locke's case, to simply say he is a product of his environment, would be to ignore the fact that there were millions in a very similar environment that did not write political theory that has shaped

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