Abortion is one of the most controversial topics of modern society due to the constant struggle over pro-life and pro-choice. This debate boils down to a simple question: is abortion murder? Although this topic has many counter-arguments, the core of the debate is on the viability of the fetus. People who side with the pro-life argument say that the fetus is clearly a qualified human being and therefore killing it is morally wrong. Contrastingly, others on the pro-choice side argue that the fetus is just a newly conceived embryo that has no moral status in the world.
Marquis begins his argument by defining the state of the fetus. The anti-abortion view is usually settled into several categories. The main ideas entail that it is morally wrong to take a human life, or to end the life of a baby. This "human life" aspect of the argument is generally too broad and does not define exactly what a human life is.
Anti abortion rally in Washington, D.C. December 2...
English: Anti-abortion demonstrators taking part i...
Marquis Hamilton Splits the DefenderMarquis points out that this could be taken to the extreme of a human cancer cell culture: destroying it would be morally wrong, because it is both living and human. The argument that covers both grounds is that it is morally wrong to kill a human being. The fact that the word being is brought into it really serves to define the boundaries. It is known that a fetus is both living and a human, but is not a clear-cut being, yet. Also, he mentions that an anti-abortionist would say, "life is present from the moment of conception" (184). In supporting this view, Marquis would argue that killing the life that was made upon conception is morally wrong.
Marquis continues his argument bringing about the pro-life argument that tends to rely on the biological aspects of life.