Don Marquis: an Argument That Abortion Is Wrong

question 18

Essay

Don Marquis: An Argument That Abortion Is Wrong
Marquis begins by arguing that the abortion debate has reached a standoff, and that the standard arguments on both sides have insurmountable problems. Opponents of abortion usually argue that all human beings have a right to life and the fetus is a human being, so the fetus has a right to life. Marquis objects that cancer-cell cultures are biologically human, but do not have a right to life. On the other hand, those who believe abortion is morally permissible often claim that only persons have a right to life and the fetus is not a person, so the fetus does not have a right to life. Marquis objects to this argument as well, on the grounds that infants and the severely retarded do not seem to be persons in the relevant sense, but clearly have a right to life. This suggests that a different approach to the abortion debate is needed.
Marquis proceeds by asking what it is that makes killing normal adult human beings wrong. Killing is wrong, Marquis maintains, because it deprives the victim of a valuable future. That is, killing someone is wrong if it deprives her of a "future like ours" (FLO). This account is supported by four considerations: It fits with our considered judgment about the nature of the misfortune of death, it explains why murder is the worst of crimes, it coheres with our judgments about cases, and it is analogous to a persuasive argument for the wrongness of animal cruelty. If one accepts the FLO account of the wrongness of killing, one must conclude that abortion is presumptively wrong, because (in most cases) abortion deprives the fetus of a future like ours. Marquis closes by replying to the objection that his view entails that contraception is immoral.
-Explain the "argument from interests" for the permissibility of abortion. How does Marquis respond to this argument? Do you find his response convincing? Why or why not?

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Definitions:

Resilient

The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness, or the ability to bounce back from adversity, trauma, or stress.

Stepfamilies

Families formed when one or both partners in a relationship have children from previous relationships and those children and the new partners live together.

Harmony

A pleasant combination or arrangement of different things that provides a consistent, orderly, or pleasing outcome, often used in relation to music or interpersonal relationships.

Extended Families

Family groups that extend beyond the nuclear family and include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives living in the same household or nearby.