In this novel examination of the issue of abortion, the authors offer a primer in the biological aspects of fetal development and its impact on the abortion controversy. Although purely scientific study cannot offer a universal solution to the issue of abortion, nor can a purely political or moral response be fully informed without the benefit of the latest scientific knowledge. Reviewing the latest developments in molecular biology, evolutionary biology, embryology, and neurophysiology, the authors reveal a surprising agreement of scientific opinion on when 'humanness' begins: with the development of a highly developed cerebral cortex. It is on this issue that the authors focus with sensitivity to the myriad of ethical and religious arguments that surround it.

About the Author
About the Authors: Harold J. Morowitz is the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy at George Mason University and the author of The Thermodynamics of Pizza and Cosmic Joy and Local Pain. James S. Trefil is the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Physics at George Mason University. He is the coauthor of Dictionary of Cultural Literacy and Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy.

Reviews
The book is concise, beautiful and intellectually high-powered, a reviewer's delight and the realization of every author's hope ... a volume which will keep readers from wool-gathering, no small feat with such dense, affect-laden material. * Liza Zabarenko, Soc. Sci. Med, Vol. 39, No. 4, 1994 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195090468
Author Harold J. Morowitz
Format Paperback
Page Count 190
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 224g
Dimensions(mm) 202mm * 127mm * 15mm