Don Marquis: an Argument That Abortion Is Wrong

question 25

Multiple Choice

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.
-Marquis argues that killing is wrong primarily because:

• A) it creates strife and destabilizes society.
• B) it harms the family of the victim.
• C) it frustrates the desires of the victim.
• D) it deprives the victim of a valuable future.

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Definitions:

Relatively Permanent

Describes something that is long-lasting and stable over time, but not necessarily unchangeable.

Learning

The process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences.

Biofeedback Training

A technique that teaches individuals to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment, introduced by B.F. Skinner.