An Argument That Abortion Is Wrong

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Pro-Life The ethics that come into play regarding a morally controversial decision such as abortion has been debated and challenged many times over with no right answer. There are rare exceptions as to when abortion may be considered, but it is ultimately wrong to intentionally act in bringing about the death of a fetus for the sake of the woman who carries it. In the article, “An Argument that Abortion is Wrong” by Don Marquis, abortion is wrong for the same sake that killing and murdering a human being is wrong; there can be no justification. Throughout the article the main arguments for pro-life are as highlighted: fetuses have their right to life, the “Future like Ours” account of the wrongness of killing, furthermore, the use of arguments …show more content…
According to Marquis, “the wrongness of killing us is understood in terms of what killing does to us. Killing us imposes on us the misfortune of premature death. That misfortune underlies the wrongness”. A premature death does not consist of the depravation of a past life or past event but specifically in the case that one who suffers a premature death is deprived from their future where one could have been able to experience a full life span may be only one month or many years. Marquis adds, “not any future conscious life qualifies, however”. For example, if one were to be suffering from a terminally ill cancer, suppose that pain would dominate any future life remaining –then in this case, death would not be a misfortune. On the other hand, the good that can be qualified in a conscious life would be “those items toward which we take a ‘pro’ attitude…completed projects which we are proud of, aesthetic enjoyments, friendships, intellectual pursuits…” . No ‘good thing’ in life will be the same for every person, but the future is valuable whether it contains things that one values now or later on grows to value. People can have both positive and negative outlooks on what their life will be like in the future but that does not mean that life worth any …show more content…
According to Judith Jarvis Thomson, in her article “A Defense of Abortion,” there are cases and factors that abortion morally permissible if conception was through rape, or if a mother would be sick and be confined to her bed for 9 months due to her pregnancy, or even if the pregnancy could potentially kill or shorten the mother’s life span. Not all abortion is ‘unjust’ killing. Having the right of life should not guarantee having “a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person’s body –even if one needs it for life itself”. One has the right to detach themselves even if it costs the fetus its life, but there is no right in the guarantee of the fetus’
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