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. Being that the loss
of one’s life is one of the greatest losses that can occur, I strongly concur with Marquis’s argument.

Don Marquis argues that abortion is morally wrong and he believes it to be as bad as killing an innocent adult human being, placing them both in the same moral category. Marquis suggests a moral principle; that killing in itself is prima facie seriously wrong. Prima Facie means at first glance or based on the first impression. For instance if I have a prima facie reason to believe something is true, then I should assume that it's true unless there is contradictory evidence that would override the prima facie reason. His argument is based on the assumption that “If fetuses are in the same category as adult human beings with respect to the moral value of their lives, then the presumption that any particular abortion is immoral is exceedingly strong” (Textbook: Marquis 465) He begins his argument by first explaining why it is morally wrong to kill adult human beings. Marquis states that what truly makes killing wrong is the effect it has solely on the victim, not the effect on the victim’s friends or the effect on the murderer. He mentions that the loss of one’s life includes depriving that individual of many experiences including activities, projects, different enjoyments and achievements that would all constitute one’s future. Marquis concludes his argument by stating that when a fetus is killed they are deprived of all of the value of their future. (Textbook: Marquis 466)

One objection that might arise against Marquis’s argument is that contraception is immoral in the same circumstances that as abortion.
The idea behind this argument is that when a couple uses contraception, for instance a condom, that they are depriving the child that would have been born of a valuable future. One might also continue to argue then that masturbation and abstinence are considered morally wrong since they are both depriving a child’s possible valuable future. Contraception is the deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy or a new life as a consequence of sexual intercourse. (dictionary.com) Different forms of contraception include some birth control pills, the morning after/Plan B pill, IUDs and more. Those who argue against Marquis believe that contraception is ultimately unnatural, anti-life and that it is a form of abortion. Furthermore they believe that those who use contraception have bad intentions because they are intentionally engaged in an "anti-life" act where they intend to prevent a new life from being born, therefore depriving it of its future
value.

This objection fails to succeed however because for it to be immoral it has to deprive an individual of a valuable future. A sperm and an egg are two things, and before fertilization there is no specific individual organism meaning that it could not be “deprived of its future”. Neither the individual sperm, nor the individual egg, has a future of value. Only after fertilization occurs, does a fetus even exist that possesses a valuable future. Marquis acknowledges that contraception prevents a possible future of value. However he does not agree that contraception is morally wrong. He backs up his arguments by stating that “There are hundreds of millions of sperm, one (released) ovum and millions of possible combinations of all of these. There is no actual combination at all…...This alternative does not yield an actual subject of harm either. The immorality of contraception is not entailed by the loss of a future like-ours argument simply because there is no non-arbitrary identifiable subject of the loss in the case of contraception….” (Textbook: Marquis 469)

Another objection one might raise against Marquis is that because fetuses cannot themselves value their own futures, their futures are thereby not valuable to them, making abortion morally okay.
One might begin to argue by saying that if it is wrong to abort, then the fetus must have a moral status, however only beings who can personally care for their interests have a moral status. Then they conclude that since fetuses can not care for their own interests being that they are incapable, that it is not wrong to abort a fetus.
This objections fails to succeed because the argument is unsound. This objection to Marquis’s argument confuses having interests versus having the ability to take an interest in one's own interests. For instance the difference between an unconscious patient and a comatose patient. It may be argued if fetuses have the ability to take an interest in their interests, but at best, they do have the future ability to take an interest in their interests. Marquis argues you cannot have a right to life unless it expressly desires its own continued existence; as fetuses do not value in such a way. He argues that just because a being does not currently value or desire something, it does not follow that that thing is not valuable to, or desirable for, the
being.

In conclusion Marquis states that abortion except in extremely rare instances, is seriously immoral and prima facie wrong. I strongly agree with Marquis’s statement that “ The future of a standard fetus includes a set of experiences, projects, activities, and such which are identical with the futures of adult human beings and are identical with the futures of young children.” (Textbook: Marquis 467) Simply because fetuses may not be considered persons, does not make abortion morally acceptable being that they as well have a future like ours.