Chapter Twelve

Sexual Morality
Current Issues
Should the law regulate sexual morality?
Sexually transmitted diseases
Emotional health
Teen pregnancy
Unwanted pregnancies
Abstinence
Cohabitation
Current Issues (cont.)
Double standard (male vs. female)
Female genital mutilation
◦ Illegalization of the practice
Rape and date rape
Human sex trafficking
Sex trade
Conceptual Problems: What Is and Is
Not Sexual
Definitions: both too narrow and too
broad
Does sexual intercourse have to be an
expression of love?
Philosophers’ understanding of love
Sexual Morality and Ethical
Theories
Consequentialist or utilitarian
considerations
Nonconsequentialist or deontological
considerations
Natural law considerations: perversion?
Gay Marriage
Consequentialistview: social value?
Nonconsequentialist view: does
homosexuality go against nature?
Natural law arguments
Homosexuality as a civil rights issue