000001883 001__ 1883
000001883 005__ 20240523045549.0
000001883 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.6082/uchicago.1883
000001883 041__ $$aen
000001883 245__ $$aBalancing Abortion Rights and Fetal Rights: A Mixed Methods Mediation of the U.S. Abortion Debate
000001883 260__ $$bThe University of Chicago
000001883 269__ $$a2019-06
000001883 300__ $$a322
000001883 336__ $$aDissertation
000001883 502__ $$bPh.D.
000001883 520__ $$aThe U.S. Supreme Court stated that Roe v. Wade was the Court’s attempt to end the national abortion controversy. In 2019, both pro-choice and pro-life state legislators are passing laws that further undermine Roe as a compromise, moving the debate toward an inflection point. This thesis reports results from surveys on Americans’ abortion attitudes, which suggest that this persistent conflict is complicated by confusion and error surrounding Americans’ perceptions of fetuses and both sides’ positions on abortion. While many pro-choice Americans believe that a fetus is not a biological human before it is capable of living outside of the pregnant person, a survey of biologists suggests that the predominant biological view is that fetuses are biological humans throughout pregnancy. While many pro-life Americans believe that pro-choice Americans do not support any abortion restrictions, a survey of pro-choice Americans suggests that most support abortion restrictions after the first trimester because most believe fetuses deserve constitutional rights at some point during pregnancy. Americans might see the national abortion controversy as an insurmountable issue because they believe pro-choice and pro-life Americans are diametrically opposed in their stances on abortion, but polls suggest 88% of Americans support some abortion restrictions and 83% support legal abortion access in some circumstances. Since most Americans support both abortion restrictions and legal abortion access, the debate centers on when a pregnant person’s right to terminate a pregnancy outweighs the fetus’ right to life. While there is a genuine disagreement on the permissibility of elective abortion in the first trimester, this thesis argues that addressing areas of confusion and error and focusing on the views of most Americans could reduce the controversy and help Americans find common ground in the debate.

A supplementary file that contains surveys and other relevant study materials is available for download.
000001883 542__ $$fUniversity of Chicago dissertations are covered by copyright.
000001883 650__ $$aPsychology
000001883 650__ $$aLaw
000001883 653__ $$aabortion
000001883 653__ $$aabortion debate
000001883 653__ $$amediation
000001883 653__ $$amixed methods
000001883 653__ $$ascience communication
000001883 653__ $$awhen life begins
000001883 690__ $$aSocial Sciences Division
000001883 691__ $$aComparative Human Development
000001883 7001_ $$aJacobs, Steven Andrew$$uUniversity of Chicago
000001883 72012 $$aRichard A. Shweder
000001883 72014 $$aDario Maestripieri
000001883 72014 $$aJane Dailey
000001883 72014 $$aJames T. Lindgren
000001883 8564_ $$9700fc0b1-2557-41fc-bef2-651f05e35d3a$$ePublic$$s2040968$$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/1883/files/Jacobs_uchicago_0330D_14834.pdf
000001883 8564_ $$9d80214cc-2d1a-4fc5-ab1a-081a9b02736e$$ePublic$$s14165088$$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/1883/files/Steven%20Andrew%20Jacobs%20-%20Dissertation%20-%20Supplementary%20File.pdf
000001883 909CO $$ooai:uchicago.tind.io:1883$$pDissertations$$pGLOBAL_SET
000001883 983__ $$aDissertation