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APHIL106 Essay 2
Abortion
Owen

The very first instance of abortion recorded dates back to as long ago as 1550BC, documented in Egyptian Ebers Papyrus. The practice of abortion has, since then, been hugely debated. The issue on abortion is divided between the conservative view and liberal view. Those who share the liberal view argue that a woman has the right to do whatever she wants with her own body, including whether or not to have a baby. Those who share the conservative view argue that the foetus has a right to life.

I personally agree with the conservative view; I think abortion is morally wrong. Abortion essentially robs a person-to-be of a future life, a chance to live. My point of view is consistent with Don Marquis’, a well-noted thinker who argued that abortion is, except for some special cases, morally wrong. Since killing an innocent human being is morally wrong, some conservatives attempt to show that abortion is likewise immoral by arguing that the fetus is a human being whose life it is seriously wrong to destroy. Marquis, however, appeals for a strong conservative position without necessarily appealing to the humanity or personhood of the fetus (as the concept of personhood can be a very subjective matter). Marquis’ main argument as to what ultimately makes killing an individual really wrong is that when you take a person’s life, you rob him or her of the chance to have a future: experiences, enjoyments, relationships. This is true whether or not the individual here is an adult or a foetus. In fact, this is an especially valid argument in the foetus’ case as it has a full life ahead of it to experience, as opposed to an adult who has already lived a major portion of his or her life. But now it has to be demonstrated that the individual, upon arriving at the fetal phase, actually counts as an entity worthy to be regarded as already having ontological status; that is, whether the fetal stage of an...