Transcript Marquis`s response

Abortion Part II: Do
Fetuses Count?
Ethics
Dr. Jason M. Chang
Don Marquis, “An Argument that
Abortion is Wrong”
Purpose of article:
•
To show that a fetus has a right to life
•
To argue that abortion is seriously wrong
Does the Fetus Have a Right to Life?
The Pro-Life Response
Yes, because the fetus is biologically human
•
Objections to pro-life account
• Connection between morality and biology seems
arbitrary
•
Includes too much (e.g., includes human cancer
cells)
Does the Fetus Have a Right to Life?
The Pro-Choice Response
•
No, because the fetus lacks certain
psychological characteristics
Objections to pro-choice account
• Includes too little (e.g., excludes infants, comatose
patients, mentally retarded)
Pro-life
Fetus has right to life
because it is biologically
human
VS
Pro-choice
Fetus does not have
right to life because it
lacks certain
characteristics
Marquis  To resolve this controversy, we need an
account of what makes killing wrong.
What Makes Killing Wrong?
•
Killing us imposes the misfortune of a premature death
•
Premature death is a misfortune because one is deprived of
•
Future life in which one enjoys the goods of life
o Accomplishments and projects
o Pursuit of goals
o Friendships
o Intellectual endeavors
o Physical pleasures
a future life
Future Like Ours (FLO)
Killing is someone wrong because it deprives
that individual of a…
FUTURE LIKE OURS (FLO)
Accomplishments Pursuit of goals
Friendships
Intellectual
endeavors
Physical pleasures
Advantages of the FLO Account
1.
Explains why we believe killing is the worst crime
2.
Produces correct answers in many life-and-death
cases in medicine
FLO’s Implications for Abortion
The human fetus has a Future Like Ours in the same
way that you and I do
FLO’s Implications for Abortion
1.
Killing an entity is morally wrong if it deprives it
of a future like ours (FLO).
2.
Killing a human fetus deprives it of a future like
ours.
Therefore,
(C) Killing a human fetus is morally wrong.
Objection #1: Argument from Interests
The Objection:
•
Fetuses have FLO, but do not meet minimum conditions
for moral standing
•
Having moral standing requires a capacity to have interests
Objection #1: Argument from Interests
(P1) A being has moral status only if it is capable of
having interests.
(P2) Being capable of having interests requires a capacity
for sentience.
(P3) A fetus does not have a capacity for sentience.
So,
(P4) A fetus is not capable of having interests.
Therefore,
(C) A fetus does not moral status.
Objection #1: Argument from Interests
Marquis’s response
•
Temporarily unconscious individuals are not sentient but
still have a right to life
A possible reply to Marquis
•
Temporarily unconscious individuals are unable to exhibit
sentience at the moment
•
However, they do still have the capacity for sentience
Objection #2: Contraception
The Objection:
• Contraception results in one less individual with an FLO
•
So, it seems that according to the FLO account,
contraception is immoral
Marquis’s response
• There is no individual to have an FLO at the time of
contraception
Objection #2: Contraception
Reply to Marquis:
• What about the sperm, the egg, the millions of sperm?
Marquis’s response
• Cannot non-arbitrarily determine the subject of harm
•
Therefore, no determinate thing is harmed from
contraception