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By Root 1335 0

was legal. Yet as we enter the final decade of this century the American people are sharply divided on the matter. Like most controversial matters, the issue of abortion is not merely a single issue but a cluster of smaller issues. No contribution to the discussion of abortion is likely to be worthwhile unless it begins with an awareness of that fact. Here is how our three-step approach can help you separate the individual parts of that cluster and deal with them meaningfully. (For the sake of brevity, the left column presents the subheading in the form it might first occur to you, and the right column shows how, after deciding that you were concerned with it, you might refine the subheading into a question.)

The Subheading

The Question

A woman's right over her body

Does a woman have the right to decide how her body will be used? If so, should the fetus be considered a part of her body?

The doctor's role

Does the doctor have an obligation only to the patient (the woman) or to the fetus as well?

The status of the fetus

At what point, if any, during a pregnancy does the fetus become a human being?

The role of law

If the fetus at some point during the pregnancy becomes a human being, do the enforcers of the law (the police and the courts) have any obligation to protect its right?

The stage of the pregnancy

At what times during a pregnancy, if any, should an abortion be permitted? (First three months? First six months? Any time before birth?)

The age of the woman

Should the woman's age be a factor in the decision whether to permit an abortion? Should a child of thirteen be treated the same as a woman of forty?

Cases of rape and incest

Should cases of rape and incest be treated differently from other cases? That is, does the fact that the woman was raped or impregnated by a close relative create a special warrant for abortion?

Parental consent for minors

Should parental consent be required before abortions are performed on minors?

Government assistance for the poor

Should the government, through Medicaid, pay for the abortions of women who lack the financial means to pay for them themselves?

The right of the father

does the husband or lover of a woman who seeks an abortion have any right? If he opposes the abortion, should the woman be permitted to have it anyway?

A constitutional amendment to ban abortion

should the U.S. Constitution be amended to ban abortion (or to extend the guarantees of law to the unborn from the moment of conception?)

SAMPLE ISSUE: BOXING

The ring Record Book lists 337 professional boxers who have died from injuries sustained in prizefights since World War II. In the United States alone, 120 boxers have died form such injuries.1 With the death of a Korean fighter, Duk Doo Kim, following a barrage of punches by Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, an issue that had received the public's attention many times previously raged once again: Should boxing be outlawed? Like the abortion issue, this one is really a cluster of smaller issues. Here is how the three step approach to clarifying issues would apply to it.

The Subheading

The Question

The boxer's right to earn a living

Would the outlawing of boxing be an unfair denial of the boxer's right to earn a living?

Boxing and mental health

Is the expression of violence that takes place in a boxing match an emotionally healthy experience for the fighters themselves? For the spectator?

The popularity of boxing

How valid is the argument that boxing should be allowed to continue because it has historically been, and continues to be, very popular?

The classification of boxing as a sport

Is boxing properly classified as a sport? That is, does the fact that the contestants aim to render each other senseless disqualify it from that classification?

Overcoming the dangers

Is it possible, perhaps by modifying the rules or the equipment, to eliminate or at least reduce the physical danger to fighters?

The effects of being punched

Exactly what effect does a punch have on the human body, particularly