Don Marquis's Argument Analysis

The vantage points taken by many to make headway in the controversy over abortion are endless, and Don Marquis is one of the many who argue for the impermissibility of the action. In my paper, I will object to Marquis’ conclusion that abortion is wrong by posing a thought experiment described by Michael Tooley. This serves the purpose of presenting a situation where an action that is morally wrong by Marquis’ logic is not intuitively impermissible. Similarly, I hope that by analyzing his argument through a Utilitarian lens it will become evident that the argument forged by Marquis is inadequate for determining the permissibility of abortion. In summary, by analyzing Marquis’ premises and subsequent conclusion through a Utilitarian perspective and by conducting a thought experiment I hope the reader will be convinced that the argument for the impermissibility of abortion posed by Marquis is inconclusive at best.
Marquis’ Argument …show more content…
In other words, Marquis views depriving a fetus, or any other being, of obtaining a future similar to our own, including human experiences and emotions, is wrong. He arrives at this assumption by dissecting the widely accepted belief that killing a rational human being is impermissible. Marquis looks to determine what about killing a rational being is the root of its impermissibility. He arrives at the conclusion that the impermissibility lies in what would be taken away from the victim: its future. Furthermore, Marquis realizes that having a future is not adequate for the impermissibility of killing as many humans do not view killing, say, an insect or a rat, as impermissible even though it too would otherwise have a future. Marquis determines the