Marquis Argument For The Impermissibility Of Abortion

Don Marquis’ argument is for the impermissibility of abortion as it is based on the idea that abortion is held to the same regard as “killing an adult human being” due to the fetus having a “future like ours”. Marquis starts off by questioning what makes killing any human being morally wrong? Then, Marquis claims that it is not the “effect on the murderer” or the “effect on the victim’s friends and relatives”, but rather the effect on the victim. He asserts the idea that the “loss of one’s life” is “one of the greatest losses one can suffer” and that the “loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments which would otherwise have constituted one’s future”. This means that by being alive and having …show more content…
Thus, the distinction of the loss of a future like ours is not based on the death, but by the value one has of their future. Marquis expresses the claim that fetuses have a “Standard future” which includes a “set of experiences, projects, activities, and such which are identical with the future of adult human beings”. Therefore, if killing an adult human being with a future like ours is morally wrong, then the killing of a fetus with a future like ours is morally wrong too. Thus, since abortion is the killing of a fetus, abortion is then morally wrong. Additionally, Marquis asserts the argument that a fetus lacks a property that is essential for valuing their future. He assumes that something can not be of value if it is not “valued by someone”. Then, Marquis explains that this claim does not “entail that my life is of no value unless it is valued by me”. Thus, he concludes that a future can be valuable to someone even if they do not value it. Furthermore, Marquis establishes that fetuses can still hold a valuable future even if they cannot value it …show more content…
The negative consequences to the birth of the fetus in each case outweighs the wrongness in the killing of the unborn child. For instance, look at a case of a fourteen-year-old girl who became pregnant due to rape. That fourteen-year-old girl did not ask to carry a child, nor did she want to have a child; this girl has lost the right to decide what happens to her body as she was forced to have sex. If she were to give birth to the child, she would lose out on the experiences and opportunities available to her before the unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, it can be justified that an abortion would provide a better outcome for the mother than if she produced an unwanted child. In the case of mothers who become pregnant and their lives come to risk due to their pregnancies, it would be unjust to expect them to carry a baby which results in their own death. It is then that the mothers own right to life is at stake, and it is reasonable to allow leniency for such a