Pros And Cons Of Don Marquis

Prompt 1: Don Marquis argues that abortion is prima facie wrong because it deprives fetuses of futures of value. What is an objection that one could make against Marquis's argument? How might Marquis respond to that objection?

I'd like to say this up front: I am very pro choice. As such, I disagree with many different components of Don Marquis' argument. That said, I welcome others to reply with counterarguments.

First of all, Marquis argued that in order to understand wether or not abortion is wrong, one must analyze why killing is wrong instead of who counts as killing. It seems to me though that you can't disregard who counts as killing when discussing topics such as abortion. I understand that this makes the debate easier for Marquis,

According to him, stating that fetuses are not people is based on the logic that fetuses are not rational. He then says that this lack of rationality is no reason to assert that they are not people. The reason why this argument fails is that pro choice individuals are not claiming that to be a human deserving rights one has to be rational. The point that many pro choice individuals are actually trying to make is that fetuses are not people because they don't have sentience, nor have they ever. They don't have brainwaves, nor have they ever. They don't have consciousness, nor have they ever. As a matter of fact, consciousness cannot emerge before 24 gestational

This, according to Marquis, applies to abortion as well. He stated that the reason why murder is an issue is because "The loss of one's life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one's future." The way I see it, this is not the best explanation regarding why murder is wrong*. Even if it was the perfect explanation, it doesn't seem to help Marquis' argument as this doesn't apply properly to fetuses. Fetuses are not losing anything when they die. They have no hopes, aspirations, interpersonal relationships. etc. at stake. If the argument is that killing potential is wrong, then we can get nowhere.

Furthermore, as mentioned in a lecture video, the argument that murder is only wrong due to wasted potential could be used to say mensuration, male masturbation, and contraception are all wrong as they lead to the death of sperm or an egg. Marquis' has attempted to say that these things aren't immoral as an egg or sperm cannot grow on their own, but neither can an embryo. It feeds on the mother and would die if removed from the