Kershnar - Does the pro-life worldview make sense? : abortion, hell, and violence against abortion doctors

1 Vulnerability, Autonomy and Applied Ethics

Edited by Christine Straehle

2 Refugees and the Ethics of Forced Displacement

Serena Parekh

3 Procreation, Parenthood, and Education Rights

Ethical and Philosophical Issues

Edited by Jaime Ahlberg and Michael Chobli

4 The Ethics of Climate Engineering

Solar Radiation Management and Non-Ideal Justice

Toby Svoboda

5 Corporal Punishment

A Philosophical Assessment

Patrick Lenta

6 Hobbesian Applied Ethics and Public Policy

Edited by Shane D. Courtland

7 Does the Pro-Life Worldview Make Sense?

Abortion, Hell, and Violence Against Abortion Doctors

Stephen Kershnar

In writing this book, I am grateful to my mother, Arlene Kershnar; brother, Eric Kershnar; and sister, Sari Reikes. They are an endless source of ideas, humor, football competition, and do serious damage at sushi buffets. I love my time with them and their families. We have spent many momentous days (Super Bowls, holidays, birthdays, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, etc.) and some hard days (funerals, unveilings, memorial services, etc.) together. They are ever present in my life and very much loved. We remember my grandparents and eating bagels, coconuts, and orange juice at Jade Winds; watching sports downstairs near the wood burning stove; holidays and camping trips with the Haberles; hours lost to our lives at Temple Shalom; Thanksgiving at Arlene and Amy Mehlmans houses; hard marches through the Roxbury Land Trust properties; spring runs in the Roxbury road races Christmas hockey at the Gunnery; visiting Aunt Rose; Uncle Guss stories, and so on.

I am particularly grateful to friends and colleagues who have provided me with incredibly interesting and insightful feedback on this book. My good friend Neil Feit, brother Eric Kershnar, and brother-in-law David Hershenov read and gave me comments on every chapter or major idea. Many of the ideas in it were hatched during our discussions, often while watching football, speaking on the phone, attending family events, and during discussions at the Buffalo reading groups (PANTC and Blameless Buffalo). They should be blamed for most, if not all, of the ideas in this book. Philosophers extraordinaire Jim Delaney, John Keller, Phil Reed, and Dale Tuggy are blameworthy for any ideas that Feit, Kershnar, and Hershenov are not blameworthy for. If you have any problem with this book, take it up with them.

Two friends, George Schedler and Thad Metz, have been an invaluable source of comments, criticisms, and ideas. I am fortunate to have such generous and intelligent people with whom to exchange ideas. I am also grateful to Robert Audi, Michael Levin, Larry Lombard, and especially the late Louis P. Pojman for the way in which they encouraged me and gave my ideas careful consideration. I am very lucky that my path has crossed such generous and gifted scholars.

For feedback on these chapters, I am very grateful to the extremely helpful comments and criticisms of Ray Belliotti, Harvey Berman, Geert Craenen, Andrew Cullison, Rose Hershenov, Bob Kelly, Pete Koch, David Limbaugh, George Schedler, and Yuichi Minemura. I am also grateful to attendees of lectures on these chapters at the PANTC meeting and conference, Society of Christian Philosophers meeting at Niagara University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Francis Beckwith gave superb comments and criticisms of the book. Many of the most interesting objections come from him.

Alice Hodges comments and editing were invaluable for this project. Without her this book never would have been completed. One also has to admire her exquisite taste in reptiles.

I am especially grateful to my wife (Maryclaire Koch). She makes my life happy and meaningful.

Part of appeared in Stephen Kershnar, Fetuses Are Like Rapists: A Judith-Jarvis-Thomson-Inspired Argument on Abortion, Reason Papers 37 (2015): 88109.

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