Don Marquis: an Argument That Abortion Is Wrong

question 12

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.
-According to Marquis, cruelty to animals is wrong because:

• A) it mistreats other people's property.
• B) it causes one to become cruel to people.
• C) it causes suffering, which is a misfortune.
• D) none of the above.

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Definitions:

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on community structure relative to its abundance.

Evolved

The process through which species undergo changes over time, often through genetic variation and natural selection, leading to adaptations and diversity among organisms.

Competitive Exclusion

A principle stating that two species competing for the same resources cannot stably coexist if other ecological factors are constant; one will always outcompete the other.

Paramecium

A genus of unicellular ciliates, commonly studied as a representative of the ciliate group.