Preview

Don Marquis's Essay 'Why Abortion Is Immoral'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
145 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Don Marquis's Essay 'Why Abortion Is Immoral'
As the human race develops over time, improvements in medical technology have allowed abortion to become readily available to women across the developed world. In Don Marquis’ essay, “Why Abortion Is Immoral,” Marquis believes that it is possible to argue that even if the fetus is not a person, abortion is morally impermissible. According to Marquis, abortion is morally wrong because the process of abortion kills a being with a right to life and a “future like ours”. Despite this view however, it is possible to reject Marquis’ account of the wrongfulness of killing, because his argument focuses on the “future like ours” statement, and this is not applicable to every situation. Through potentiality, a fetus’ lack of awareness, and the lack
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Thomson vs. Marquis: Abortion
    • 1756 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Thomson vs. Marquis: Abortion

    The question between whether abortion is morally right or wrong has been talked about for years and no common ground has been made. Judith Thomson, a believer in Pro-choice, argues that abortion is not wrong because the mother should have a choice of what happens to her body. In response to this, Donald Marquis who is against abortion believes every fetus is a human with a right to have a future like ours. Each Ethicist gives examples and theories as to why abortion is wrong or right. In this essay, I will attempt to show that abortion is okay in some cases, and Donald Marquis’s views and arguments are broad and incorrect.…

    • 1756 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast Tomson And Marquis On Abortion
    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Tomson And Marquis On Abortion

    Abortion In both of Marquis and Tomson’s point of view on abortion, I felt it very interesting on how both of them felt about abortion. We saw, that Marquis was arguing why he thought that abortion is morally wrong. Whereas, Tomson’s view about abortion, was why abortion is morally acceptable. On Tomson’s view of why he thinks that abortion is morally acceptable, is he gave a couple of views good examples on his point of view on having why abortion is acceptable and how is view can save the mother’s life, despite that it is morally wrong to kill an innocent child.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Marquis vs. Thomson on Abortion
    • 3100 Words
    • 89 Pages

    Marquis vs. Thomson on Abortion

    The debate about abortion focuses on two issues; 1.) Whether the human fetus has the right to life, and, if so, 2.) Whether the rights of the mother override the rights of the fetus. The two ethicists who present strong arguments for their position, and who I am further going to discuss are that of Don Marquis and Judith Thomson. Marquis' "Future Like Ours" (FLO) theory represents his main argument, whereas, Thomson uses analogies to influence the reader of her point of view. Each argument contains strengths and weaknesses, and the point of this paper is to show you that Marquis presents a more sound argument against abortion than Thomson presents for it. An in depth overview of both arguments will be presented in the paper, as well as a critique of both the pros and cons that stem out from the question-begging arguments.…

    • 3100 Words
    • 89 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomson
    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomson

    After reading “A defense of Abortion” by Judith Jarvis Thomson and what he had to say with his violinist analogy involving the kidney replacement. I agree with what he has to say on not only abortion itself but, whether or not a fetus should have the right to the women’s body. I don’t think that the fetus should be given the right to use the women’s body because what if she does not what to have a baby and ends up getting pregnant anyway. Also, each time a woman engages in sexual intercourse, she is not inviting the fetus to live inside her body. This is why birth control and other contraceptives are not a sure deal when dealing with sexual intercourse. What if the birth control method fails and the women end's up getting pregnant? She did…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Don Marquis Abortion Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Don Marquis Abortion Rhetorical Analysis

    In this argument, right to life is closely connected with the future- a future like ours concept. We might be tempted to ask what is so unique about our future?! What does the future hold for us?! Our future consists of unique experiences- either good or bad, different activities, pleasures and accumulation of knowledge and etc. All of these experiences have value to us. Sometimes we might not value things that are going to happen in our future because we might think that our future is unknown. For Marquis, the future has value independent of whether or not it is recognized by the person or the fetus. For instance, a suicidal teenager might not see any value to her future but Marquis would maintain that her future has value. Having a future like ours alone is enough of a reason for Marquis to put human fetus under the umbrella of morality, which in this case is, in fact, connected to the issue of killing or aborting the embryo. He is approaching the morality of abortion from the future like ours perspective but not from genealogical or biological factors about the embryo. So a being can have a future like ours but not be a person. For instance, we can also apply this concept to a newborn baby or a toddler. A newborn baby or a toddler doesn’t have the conceptual capacity of an adult human but he/she has a future like ours. So Marquis holds that one can have a future like ours even…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Don Marquis's Essay 'Why Abortion Is Immoral'
    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Why Don Marquis's Essay 'Why Abortion Is Immoral'

    Marquis believes that abortion is “morally unjustified” (525). His argument is that “it is wrong to kill us because such killing deprives us of all the value of our futures” (525). He also argues that fetuses are close enough to being like us and that is it just as wrong to kill them as it is to kill us. The conclusion of his argument is that not all abortions are wrong since there may be other conditions in some cases such as “abortion before implantation, when the life of the woman is threatened by a pregnancy or abortion and abortion after rape”…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Marquis's Arguments On Abortion
    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Marquis's Arguments On Abortion

    The first argument is by J.J Thomson regarding abortion when it happens during consensual sex. She says that the woman has no obligation to keep the child, even though the woman had consensual sex and understood that she could become pregnant. Marquis talks about how everyone has a FLO account, and abortion would be killing, and killing causes premature death, so therefore, he believes that abortion is immoral in all cases including consensual sex. Judith Jarvis Thomson gives an analogy when it comes to consensual sex. If the room is stuffy, and you decide to open a window, and a burglar crawls in, you have to let him stay, since you opened the window.…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abortion " Matters of Life and Death Casts Dispersions on Both Pro-Abortion and Anti-Abortion Debates"
    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Abortion " Matters of Life and Death Casts Dispersions on Both Pro-Abortion and Anti-Abortion Debates"

    Jonathan Glover, in his article Matters of Life and Death casts dispersions on both pro-abortion and anti-abortion debates citing them as too knee-jerk emotional reactions diminishing the inherent complexity of the other side (1. Glover, CC2006, p. 0110). Glover comprehensively addresses the key points of both sides of the abortion debate and evaluates their inherent virtues, especially for those who hold these opinions, then methodically points out its flaws. Ultimately, Glover comes to the conclusion that though a fetus is a human at the moment of conception, the right to abort lies with the mother and her own self-determination.…

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Don Marquis Abortion Analysis
    • 1830 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Don Marquis Abortion Analysis

    The first argument is one that takes a position to support the idea that abortion, in certain cases, is morally permissible or is acceptable to do. The argument is given by Judith Jarvis Thompson. She concedes to the idea that the fetus is a person and is given the right to life for the sake of argument and to get into the moral permissibility, or the right and wrong of each decision depending on the circumstances for having an abortion. The right to life is simply your right to live and have a life without someone taking that right from you by killing you or hindering it in some way. She concedes to the idea that the fetus is a person to bypass that argument and get into situations even assuming the the fetus is a person.…

    • 1830 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Marquis's Arguments Against Abortion
    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Marquis's Arguments Against Abortion

    Warren states that the anti-abortionist must show that the fetus is a person in the full moral sense, not just in a genetic sense. The moral community, she believes, consists of all and only people, rather than merely human beings. She finds a distinction between a human being (someone genetically human) and a person (someone we have included in our moral community). She gives the example of finding life forms on another planet, and questions how humanity would decide if they should be treated as persons, or as potential sources of food. The determining factors she decides on are five traits of personhood: consciousness, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the capacity to communicate, and self-awareness.…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Marquis Arguments Against Abortion
    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Marquis Arguments Against Abortion

    Marquis stated in his writing “Clearly, it is wrong to kill adult human beings. Clearly, it is not wrong to end the life of some arbitrarily chosen single human cell. Fetuses seem to be like arbitrarily chosen human cells in some respects and like adult humans in other respects.” (Wolff pg. 361). Marquis thus suggest that a proper contention for an anti-abortionist (Value of the future account) must be founded on the theory that if someone is not afforded the ‘opportunity’ to experience certain gains or projects due to the negligence/actions of others then whomever is responsible for the loss of that person’s life is in fact morally…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography
    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Annotated Bibliography

    Marquis, Don. "Why Abortion Is Immoral." Journal of Philosophy 86 (1989): 183-202. Print. This journal is written by a philospher by the name of Don Marquis. While this document is quit outdated it still plays an important role in today 's debate about abortion. It is used by pro-life activists when debating the reasons why they feel abortion is immoral. This journal is long and filled with great ideas to ponder about life, its meaning and signifigance to the world. Marquis has etched his name with this written journal in the never ending debate of wether abortion is right or wrong. I think this piece will be valuable to my essay in that it will give my audience a deeper perception than the current idea that abortion should be a womens choice.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Marquis On Abortion
    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages

    John Marquis On Abortion

    Marquis argues that killing a fetus deprives it of a valuable future/future like ours, and concludes by saying abortion is not morally permissible. I agree with Marquis’s argument that it is wrong to kill a fetus through abortion because I believe that they have a valuable future as all humans do. Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, which is most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. (dictionary.com) Furthermore I do agree with Marquis that majority of deliberate abortions are seriously immoral, however I do believe that in some cases it is permissible, for instance choosing to have an abortion after being sexually assaulted or due to life threatening circumstances.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Advantages Of The Civil War
    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page

    Advantages Of The Civil War

    An important advantage to have in the civil war was the advantage of technology. The north was a manufacturing center of the world, mass producing products new and old at an efficient rate. The north also had a sprawling system of railroads which could carry supplies and troops across the country fast. The north developed the telegraph which allowed them to telecommunicate pretty much anywhere instantly. Both the north and south had advantages in Government and society. The north already had an established government. Many of the southerners were united to defend their way of life. Advantages in geography/goals… or something to that effect. The southerners were used to the terrain. The north had to invade and take over while the south just…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Morality of a Fetus
    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Morality of a Fetus

    Today in the United States as well as all around our world, one of the most contested and debated issues, that everyone has some sort of opinion on is the subject of abortion. There are many different thoughts, ideals, and opinions on whether or not abortion is right, wrong, or even morally sane to do. There are clinics and hospitals that perform the procedures and at many of these locations there are groups who will hold protests against the operation as well as those who support it. But all of those issues are not what this essay is going to be about, this is going to inform you about whether or not all arguments about the subject abortion come down to the question of what is the moral status of the fetus.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics