The Immorality of Abortion

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The pro-choice and pro-life debate has been going on for years and is much of a controversial problem in society. Don Marquis, author of Why Abortion is Immoral, argues against abortion and speaks to the reader in terms of the basic feature of why killing is wrong which applies to a fetus based on personhood. Marquis starts with an opening question to figure out on fundamental grounds why killing is presumptively wrong. Normally, one would conclude that killing is wrong based on two reasons. The first reason is destroying a human life is wrong. Although this is supported by endless examples, it entails too many properties that can fall under this category. This factor shows that even cancer cells of a human being should not be harmed or killed since it is a bacterium that is both living and human. The second reason individuals think killing is wrong is because taking away ones personhood is wrong. Personhood is a narrow term that describes a person as having rational thought, feelings, desires, goals and dreams. This theory discredits infants and mentally ill and disabled individuals given that they do not possess these cognitive processes, thus killing these individuals is permissible. Both stances are problematic. This concludes that killing is wrong because it destroys a human life and because taking away ones personhood is wrong, yet it does not lead individuals to become anti-abortionists. One needs to dig deeper into the issue of why it is wrong to kill.
Marquis main argument why abortion is immoral is not about the effect of the murderer, the victims close relatives and friends nor the personhood problem, but it is about the effect on the victims’ life and future. The effect killing has on the victim is the most influent...

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...life is at risk is also inconsistent with Marquis values since the fetus will still have a future like ours. Marquis argument contradicts itself.
Marquis claims abortion is morally impermissible because killing is wrong. Killing is morally wrong according to most individuals in society, but getting an abortion is a different category. Marquis argues that abortion is morally impermissible because it takes away from a fetus having a future like ours, but he fails to explain why it is morally permissible to get an abortion in the case of rape, considering the fetus who is victim of the rape has a future like ours. Thomson states simply through the violinist experiment that if a fetus is considered a person like you and I, then the fetus does not get special privileges to use ones resources to sustain life. Agreeing that a fetus is a person turns the tables on Marquis.

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