Why is fetus not a baby?
Don Marquis sets out to prove once and for all that abortion is seriously wrong. However, in certain cases such as the form of a pregnancy that could endanger the mother’s life when the fetus is anencephalic, it can be permitted. In his argument, Marquis claims that abortion is wrong because it is wrong to kill a hermit and the loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences that would have established one’s future. I shall argue that although these claims seem to be successful, they still have errors. I suggest that abortion is permitted because the woman has the right to her body, the fetus is not a person and Marquis invalid argument about future of value. In country X where women are not granted political or civil rights; they receive only minimal education; and they are not permitted to make any important economic or social decisions regarding their lives. If the woman living in this country becomes pregnant with a healthy female fetus but she wants to abort it, its her decision. She desires to have an abortion because she does not want her daughter to grow up in a country in which females lead such restricted lives. According to Don Marquis, the mother’s decision is morally wrong. First of all, the fetus is healthy and when it is killed, it is deprived of all the future …show more content…
In contrast, I think that the fetus is not a person as it lacks the mental states that many philosophers take to be necessary for personal identity. Since it is not the same as the person who will or would have that future, it is not morally wrong to abort. However, Marquis emphasizes that his argument avoids the concept of a person. Consequently, Marquis can respond that the fetus is the same organism as the body into which it will or would develop, even if it is not the same person. Marquis’s argument works just as well if he refers to the future of the
Don Marquis sets out to prove once and for all that abortion is seriously wrong. However, in certain cases such as the form of a pregnancy that could endanger the mother’s life when the fetus is anencephalic, it can be permitted. In his argument, Marquis claims that abortion is wrong because it is wrong to kill a hermit and the loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences that would have established one’s future. I shall argue that although these claims seem to be successful, they still have errors. I suggest that abortion is permitted because the woman has the right to her body, the fetus is not a person and Marquis invalid argument about future of value. In country X where women are not granted political or civil rights; they receive only minimal education; and they are not permitted to make any important economic or social decisions regarding their lives. If the woman living in this country becomes pregnant with a healthy female fetus but she wants to abort it, its her decision. She desires to have an abortion because she does not want her daughter to grow up in a country in which females lead such restricted lives. According to Don Marquis, the mother’s decision is morally wrong. First of all, the fetus is healthy and when it is killed, it is deprived of all the future …show more content…
In contrast, I think that the fetus is not a person as it lacks the mental states that many philosophers take to be necessary for personal identity. Since it is not the same as the person who will or would have that future, it is not morally wrong to abort. However, Marquis emphasizes that his argument avoids the concept of a person. Consequently, Marquis can respond that the fetus is the same organism as the body into which it will or would develop, even if it is not the same person. Marquis’s argument works just as well if he refers to the future of the