Discuss some of the differences between the two
authors on abortion. Mention your own approach on any
of these issues.
Don Marquis proposes in "Why Abortion Is Immoral" that the reason why abortion is
immoral is that it deprives a person of the potential "for a set of experiences, projects,
activities, and such." How important is that right and to whom does it
extend? If we accept this reasoning, does it not follow that it is immoral to incarcerate
any human being? You would definitely be denying them a set of certain experiences,
projects, activities they would otherwise have.
Wouldn't it then be immoral to subject any person to anything that had the potential to
even alter his potential expectation for a set of experiences, projects, activities and
such? You may even be able to extend this line of thought to make it immoral to fire a
person from a job or refuse to hire a person (or cut him off in traffic) because you would
be denying them certain future expectations.
The Immoral Mr. Teas
Gestational age may determine which abortion metho...
Photo from the 2004 March for Women's Lives, taken...What about the severely mentally and physically retarded (or persons such as Tracy
Latimer) who have no expectation of any real set of experiences, projects, or activities?
You can't deprive someone of something they never had to begin with, even though they
are breathing and have the same genetic code healthy people do.