Don Marquis Why Abortion Is Immoral Summary
The Dilemma of Marquis’ Future Like Ours Argument when applied to Euthanasia
In his essay "Why abortion is immoral", Don Marquis defends the anti-abortionist view. He bases his defense on the moral impermissibility of killing in general through what he calls the deprivation thesis (DT), which is that killing is wrong if the subject of the killing has a future like ours because killing the subject deprives it of its future. Marquis’ argument, known as the future like ours (FLO) argument against abortion is as follows:
If X has a future like ours, killing X is morally wrong (from DT)
Therefore, if a fetus has a future like ours, killing a fetus is morally wrong (from 1)
A standard fetus has a future like ours
Therefore, killing a standard fetus is morally wrong (from 2 and 3)
In this essay I …show more content…
Superior Court, Elizabeth Bouvia, was a college educated, “mentally competent, young, quadriplegic woman who suffered from cerebral palsy, leaving her completely bedridden and dependent on others to perform all her activities of daily living”(Bouvia v Superior Court, 179 Cal. App. 3d 1127). Following the accident, she ”sued the court for the right to have her nasogastric tubes removed and stop all medical measures to which she did not consent”(Bouvia v Superior Court, 179 Cal. App. 3d 1127). When the case was first heard by a lower court, the court determined that since Bouvia could live for about another 20 years with medical aid, she had a future like ours, and should not be given medical aid even if she does not want it. This court’s ruling is the conservative interpretation of Marquis’ FLO argument that I will discuss. When the superior court heard the case, they determined that the lower court was wrong in considering quantity of life as opposed to quality, ruling that considering the quality of life is just as important if not more. The view of the superior court is the more liberal interpretation of Marquis’ argument that I will
In his essay "Why abortion is immoral", Don Marquis defends the anti-abortionist view. He bases his defense on the moral impermissibility of killing in general through what he calls the deprivation thesis (DT), which is that killing is wrong if the subject of the killing has a future like ours because killing the subject deprives it of its future. Marquis’ argument, known as the future like ours (FLO) argument against abortion is as follows:
If X has a future like ours, killing X is morally wrong (from DT)
Therefore, if a fetus has a future like ours, killing a fetus is morally wrong (from 1)
A standard fetus has a future like ours
Therefore, killing a standard fetus is morally wrong (from 2 and 3)
In this essay I …show more content…
Superior Court, Elizabeth Bouvia, was a college educated, “mentally competent, young, quadriplegic woman who suffered from cerebral palsy, leaving her completely bedridden and dependent on others to perform all her activities of daily living”(Bouvia v Superior Court, 179 Cal. App. 3d 1127). Following the accident, she ”sued the court for the right to have her nasogastric tubes removed and stop all medical measures to which she did not consent”(Bouvia v Superior Court, 179 Cal. App. 3d 1127). When the case was first heard by a lower court, the court determined that since Bouvia could live for about another 20 years with medical aid, she had a future like ours, and should not be given medical aid even if she does not want it. This court’s ruling is the conservative interpretation of Marquis’ FLO argument that I will discuss. When the superior court heard the case, they determined that the lower court was wrong in considering quantity of life as opposed to quality, ruling that considering the quality of life is just as important if not more. The view of the superior court is the more liberal interpretation of Marquis’ argument that I will