Review Of Don Marquis's Argument 'Future-Like-Ours'

Abortion is a topic that has been debated for decades, with arguments coming from sides of “pro-life” or “pro-choice”. However, it has also been discussed and debated of the morality of abortion and the moral obligations mothers do, or do not, hold as carriers of these fetuses. Philosopher Don Marquis develops a clear argument in relation to the morality of abortion, to which he expresses the idea that abortion is almost always seriously immoral with rare exceptions allowed for specific scenarios. While his argument eludes the question of at what point a fetus becomes a fully developed member of the wider moral community, he bases this idea on,”...the view that an aborted fetus loses the future goods of consciousness, such as the pursuit of

He also describes the morality of killing and concludes that the act of abortion is comparable to the act of killing a fully grown, adult human being that is a part of the moral community. This claim leads to the overarching view that because the act of killing an adult person is morally wrong, abortion is ultimately morally impermissible as well. Throughout his argument, Marquis builds to his overall conclusion that abortion is morally impermissible because the act of killing is morally wrong. He places the same moral standing of a fully developed, adult human being on fetuses, stating that aborting a fetus withdraws its potential to have valuable future experiences, projects, and enjoyments. However, Marquis’s argument does not provide any reasoning on behalf of the mother’s potential future after the fetus is developed and born, and does not allow any clarification on the true personhood held by the fetus compared to the mother’s already fully developed

Without the proper funds to support a child’s growth and development, it cannot be claimed that the mother is morally wrong for aborting the fetus when that fetus would not have the potential to have experiences and projects that would lead to a fulfilling life. Another point to be mentioned is that there could be outlying mental, or physical, discrepancies that the mother may face, making the potential future life of the fetus unable to support any form of experience or activity that allows for the future of the fetus to be fulfilling and provide happiness. He states,”The loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one’s future.” (Marquis 423). If unfortunate circumstances, like substance abuse, physical, or mental abuse, arise following the fetus being born, then it could be argued that the mother upholds the right to abort the fetus as it would not be able to have the potential life Marquis describes in his