Why Abortion is Immoral by Don Marquis (1989)

Overview

• The essay argues that abortion is, except in rare cases, seriously immoral.
• It places abortion in the same moral category as killing an innocent adult human being.
• The argument is based on whether a fetus is a being whose life it is seriously wrong to end.

The Wrongness of Killing

• Understanding the wrongness of killing is essential to the abortion debate.
• Killing is wrong because it deprives the victim of all future experiences, activities, and enjoyments.
• This is termed as the "loss of one's future" which is the primary wrong-making feature.

Support for the Theory

1. Killing as a Serious Crime:

   • Killing is one of the worst crimes because it deprives the victim of future experiences.

2. Application to Non-Humans:

   • The theory applies to beings with a future like ours, including potential extraterrestrial species and possibly some non-human animals.

3. Implication for Euthanasia:

   • Does not necessarily oppose active euthanasia for those who have no valuable future due to severe illness.

4. Application to Infants and Children:

   • Killing infants and young children is wrong because they have valuable futures.

Implications for Abortion

• The future of a standard fetus includes valuable experiences and activities.
• Therefore, abortion is prima facie seriously morally wrong.
• This argument is not dependent on the notion of personhood.

Comparison with Other Ethical Theories

1. Wanton Infliction of Pain on Animals:

   • Both the abortion argument and the animal pain argument share the structure of identifying a wrong-making feature.

2. Desire Account vs. Future-like-Ours Account:

   • Desire to live is not a necessary condition for the wrongness of killing.
   • The theory holds even if a potential victim does not currently desire to live.

3. Discontinuation Account:

   • This account focuses on the discontinuation of experiences, which is not applicable to fetuses.

Counterarguments

1. Value Requires a Valuer:

   • Future can be valuable even if not currently valued by the individual.

2. Tooley's Argument:

   • Lacks capacity to desire continued existence is not a necessary condition for moral wrongness.

3. Victimization and Sentience:

   • Even non-sentient beings, like a fetus, can be victims based on deprivation of a future.

Contraception

• The argument does not entail that contraception is immoral because it does not deprive an actual entity of a future.

Conclusion

• The essay provides an argument for the serious presumptive wrongness of abortion based on the moral status of the fetus.
• It uses a straightforward ethic of killing applicable to fetal life.
• The approach avoids religious or speciesist implications, aligning with intuitions about young children.