Essay about Is Abortion Morally Permissible or Not

The following essay will examine the morality of abortion with specific reference to the writings of Don Marquis, Judith Jarvis Thompson, Peter Singer and Mary Anne Warren. I will begin by assessing the strength of the argument provided by Marquis which claims that abortion is impermissible because it deprives a being of a potential â€Å"future like ours,† and then go on to consider the writings of Singer, Thomson and Warren to both refute Marquis claims and support my assertion that abortion is morally permissible primarily because of the threat to the freedom and bodily autonomy of women extending the right to life to a foetus in utero would pose. To fully understand the argument we should first define the parameters of the debate and the†¦show more content†¦Don Marquis spearheads the potentiality argument in his essay on the immorality of abortion (Study Guide, pp. 167-73), claiming that it is impermissible because it deprives the foetus of a â€Å"future like ours,† and is consequently morally on par with killing a healthy adult (Study Guide, p. 170). Despite Marquis’ claims that his argument combines the best aspects of the personhood and sanctity of life ideas to produce a superior ethical theory on the immorality of abortion (Study Guide, p. 170), his argument features many flaws, including seemingly ad hoc explanations to avoid speciesism (Study Guide, p. 169) and exclude contraception (Study Guide, p. 173), and, most prominently, ill-defined terminology. His entire argument centers on the value of a â€Å"future like ours† and yet he fails to define what exact quality makes such a potentia l future valuable, giving only a vague indication that it is somehow different to personhood. The vagueness of what is essentially the key to his entire theory makes it difficult to accurately dispute his claims, yet he concedes himself that his theory is simply an indirect and unconvincing way of reaching the same conclusion as the personhood argument (Study Guide, p.171). His conclusions are in essences the same as those drawn from the personhood argument, it argues that foetuses should be granted legal personhood based onShow MoreRelatedIs Abortion Morally Permissible?966 Words   |  4 PagesA Defense of Abortion, she argues that abortion is permissible because an individual’s right over their own body outweighs a fetus’s right to life. In this paper I will focus on whether or not abortion is always permissible. First, I will present Thomson’s argument which says that abortion is sometimes permissible. I will do so by describing her â€Å"famous violinistà ¢â‚¬  thought experiment. Next, I will object to Thomson’s claim and expand the scope of her argument by arguing that abortion is in fact, alwaysRead MoreAbortion Is Morally Permissible?1817 Words   |  8 PagesAbortion is the willful and deliberate termination of pregnancy before the fetus comes to term; meaning the death of a fetus. Not having access to safe and legal abortions can cause more pain than positive it can lead women to be injured or infertile or even dead. Also, the denial of access to safe and legal abortion is said to be depriving women of the right to control their own body. However, the above point does not persuade people who are against abortion because they believe that fetuses areRead MoreAbortion Is Morally Permissible?1675 Words   |  7 PagesAbortion is defined as â€Å"The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.† (Oxford Dictionary). Nearly three out of ten women in the U .S. have an abortion by the time they are 45-years-old (Planned Parenthood). Abortion is morally permissible because an abortion prevents a woman and the potential child’s suffering. Abortion is moral because it is a fundamental right of competent adults to make their own decisions on the course of theirRead MoreIs Abortion Morally Permissible?1977 Words   |  8 PagesThe question of whether or not abortion is morally permissible is widely disputed amongst those who are pro-life or pro-choice. While in some societies abortion has been outlawed, others either entirely allow for it or consider abortion permissible on a case-by-case basis. Many pro-lifers classify abortion as immoral, some even considering it murder. Abortion is typically defined as terminating a pregnancy before the fetus is able to survive outside of the womb. A crucial factor in determining whetherRead MoreIs Abortion Morally Permissible?1879 Words   |  8 PagesAbortion is morally permissible in all ca ses; regardless of how the pregnancy came about. The question of whether the fetus is granted personhood at conception or anytime during its development is entirely irrelevant. The right to control your own body often trumps someone’s right to life. Even if you declare personhood to the fetus, it does not determine the morality of abortion. Whether it is â€Å"killing an innocent child† or not does not take away the fact that this country has time and time againRead MoreThesis: Is Abortion Morally Permissible?851 Words   |  4 PagesAbortion Thesis: Abortion is morally permissible in which a fetus is not a person which deprives the fetus to its right to life, circular reasoning is an ineffective to oppose abortion, abortion only risks the fetus not society, and deprivation from a fetuss future and suffering of a loved one has no affect on the argument towards anti-abortion. Mary Anne Warren in On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion stated the characteristics which are central to the concept of personhood which are â€Å"sentienceRead MoreEssay about Abortion: Morally Permissible or Impermissible?2524 Words   |  11 PagesAbortion: Morally Permissible or Impermissible? Abortion can be defined as a means of terminating a pregnancy by removing or expelling a fetus from the uterus before viability. Abortion has been, and will always be, a controversial issue in today’s society and in the future. People have always struggled to determine whether it is ethical to abort a fetus; morally permissible (acceptable) or morally impermissible (unacceptable). The polarizing views that are associated with abortion makes thisRead MoreWhy Should Sex Selection Abortions Are Morally Permissible?923 Words   |  4 Pagessex-selection abortions are morally permissible?† No, I do not think they are morally permissible. Not so much because of the utilitarian’s belief, which I will get into later, but because I do think a fetus is a person. And like Kantians who believe fetuses are persons, the fetus has all the rights and due all the respect that any other person has. To abort that fetus because it’s a girl (or a boy) does not give any righ ts to the fetus. With that said however, that doesn’t mean I think abortions themselvesRead MoreMarquis vs. Warren in the Case Against Abortion1298 Words   |  6 Pagesdetermining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible becauseRead MoreA Defense Of Abortion By Judith Thomson1678 Words   |  7 PagesWhat takes precedence; an unborn fetus’ life or its mother’s right to her body? Anti-abortionist argue that the life of an unborn fetus has priority, and thus abortion is morally impermissible as it violates the fetus’ right to life. I n her article â€Å"A Defense of Abortion†, Judith Thomson argues that abortion is morally permissible under the certain conditions where the rights of the fetus fail to surpass a mother’s right of choice. For the sake of her argument, Thomson allows the assumption that