Prima Facie Morally Wrong Essay

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In this essay, I argue that abortion is prima facie morally wrong. Prima facie morally wrong means that the action at first is wrong, however sometimes there are ways to override its wrongness. My primary goal is to demonstrate that abortion, or killing a fetus, is prima facie morally wrong for the same reason that killing an innocent adult human being is morally wrong. I will also explore an objection to my claim and discuss my rational for why it fails to refute my argument.
I believe it is prima facie morally wrong to kill an adult human being primarily because it denies them of a “future like ours” (Marquis, 1989). As human beings, there are certain things we value in life. When a human being dies, they no longer have the ability to have all of the pleasurable experiences that they would take part in in the future. “When one is killed, they are deprived both of what they now value which would have been part of my future personal life. Therefore, the loss of one’s life is one of the greatest losses one can suffer” (Marquis, 1989). Through this reasoning, I came to the conclusion that killing an innocent adult human being …show more content…
“The moral principle that suggests that killing is prima facie seriously wrong because it deprives the individual of a future like ours. But, an egg and sperm are two separate things. Before fertilization, there is no specific organism that is a fetus yet”(Marquis 1989). There is no single individual, or fetus, being deprived of a valuable future with experiences, values, and enjoyments; therefore, contraception, masturbation, and abortion are not prima facie morally wrong as well. However, there is one exception to this- Plan B. Plan B is prima facie morally wrong because there is a single individual being denied a valuable future, even if that fetus is only one day old as would be the case when using this morning after

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