Anti-abortion   Term Paper ID:32296 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: This paper makes the case against abotion It argues that abortion is wrong because ...... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 3 sources, 21 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: This paper makes the case against abortion. It argues that abortion is wrong because it is wrong to kill a human being, and regards a fetus as being alive from the moment of conception. This argument is backed up by essays by Don Marquis, Larry Bohannon, and the Intellectual Viewpoint. Paper Introduction: The thesis of this paper is that abortion is the killing of a humanbeing and it is morally wrong Don Marquis in his paper Why Abortion isImmoral sets about an eloquent argument that performing an abortion is inthe same moral category as killing another human being Marquis He begins by explaining why he believes it is wrong tokill first he says that it is wrong because it brutalizes the one whokills and also that it deprives others of the individual\'s presence However Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. If this person is rescued, theymay go on to live a very productive and fulfilling life, which means theydid have a future, even though they could not see it at a particular momentin time. They all agree that women have choices they can makebefore conception these days with the myriad of birth control methodsavailable and the recently arrived "Morning After" pill. Marquis, Don. Thesepills work by increasing certain hormones. Carrying this theory forward, itmeans that it would be wrong to kill any species, not just human species,because it is possible there are species on other planets which also valuetheir future the way we do. 15 May 2 4. Marquis leaves open the question of whether this theory should beextended to cover animal species, and if so, to what extent (Marquis 189-198). 9 July 2 3. Bohannon sees three types of pro-abortionists who need to beconvinced otherwise (Bohannon). The second groups is the "convenience crowd" who aremorally weak people, and are victims of this morally confused age. He believes theyare small in number, but very vocal in the media, making them seem largerthan they really are. The Intellectual Viewpoint gives a strong argument against abortion(Intellectual). it follows that abortion is prima facieseriously morally wrong" (Marquis 189-198). As Intellectual Viewpoint indicates, there is now a "Morning After"pill (Intellectual). With thesechoices available, abortion is no longer justified for reasons used in thepast - youth, poverty, rape, incest. Larry Bohannon also speaks out very strongly against abortion,calling it :the practice of killing the weakest and most defenseless amongus" (Bohannon). He begins by explaining why he believes it is wrong tokill: first he says that it is wrong because it brutalizes the one whokills, and also that it deprives others of the individual's presence.However, He goes on to argue that these are not the major consequences ofkilling someone. While they agree that there are many reasons a woman maynot wish to bear a child - teenagers who are not prepared for childraising, career obligations, women who feel that now is not the right timeto have a child, etc. These pills do not interfere with pregnancy but arebelieved to either inhibit ovulation or prevent implantation, and work upto five days after unprotected sexual intercourse has taken place. 86(4) (1989): 183, 189-198, 2 1-2 2. They are the "true believers" who areradical feminists, convinced that their side is right. Theviewpoint taken is that life begins at conception, when the process ofdevelopment begins, for "Without development in the womb, a fetus wouldnever come to term" (Intellectual) Consequently to end a life prior tobirth or after birth is murder. Life is seen as a developmental processfrom conception to death. Marquis points out that it is accepted that it is wrong to killbabies and young children because it is presumed they have future value(Marquis 189-198). Many of these people, says Bohannon, arereally on the pro-life side but are afraid to voice their views. They can be used in cases ofincest or rape because they do not constitute an abortion, and can be takenimmediately after the attack. "Evil in our time." 2 . - they argue that a woman has other options. In closing, Marquis sums uphis argument eloquently by saying, "Since a fetus possesses a property, thepossession of which in adult human beings is sufficient to make killing anadult human being wrong, abortion is wrong" (Marquis 189-198). The use of such pills is acceptable becauseit is understandable why a woman would not want to carry the child underthese circumstances. There are alternatives, and womenmust be educated to make the right choice - the choice of life. A woman is fully aware that ifshe engages in such activity, there is a possibility that she may becomepregnant, and therefore she should take responsibility for the child ifthis happens. "Abortion & responsibility - A Pro-Life perspective. However, RU-486, the "Early Abortion" pill, is notacceptable because it does cause an abortion, and is effective up to 49days after the beginning of the last menstrual period. Besides, every individual should be givena chance at life, no matter what their disabilities. He believes euthanasia isright for people who are "severely and incurably ill, who face a future ofpain and despair, and who wish to die" because these people will not havesuffered a loss if they are killed (Marquis 189-198). The Intellectual Viewpoint is that if a woman engages in sexualactivity while not using any form of birth control, then she is actingirresponsibly, and if she becomes pregnant and has an abortion, she isagain acting irresponsibly (Intellectual). The thesis of this paper is that abortion is the killing of a humanbeing, and it is morally wrong. "Why abortion is immoral." The Journal ofPhilosophy. Theyare swayed by the argument that abortion is better than having a lot ofunwanted babies, and Bohannon believes they can just as easily be swayedover to the pro-life side of the argument. The wrongness of killing of babies and young childrenis not accounted for by Personhood theories, making it necessary to add adhoc accounts to cover the wrongness of killing infants and young children.The theory of the wrongness of killing can be applied to abortion, howeverMarquis does allow that there are cases where it is permissible, but theseare extremely rare, and can be justified only if the loss endured byfailing to abort would be at least as great. Note, however, thathe still refers to euthanasia as killing. Bohannon goes asfar as to liken abortion to Hitler's killing of the Jews and the mentallyill in Germany during World War II, denying that their lives had value.This crosses Marquis's theme of the value of an individual's future whichis lost when the individual is killed. What makes this worse, argues Marquis, is not that the victim isdeprived of the activities, projects, experiences, and enjoyments of hisfuture life which he enjoys now, but that there are also things which hemay not enjoy now, but would have enjoyed in the future, and he is deprivedof these, too (Marquis, 189-198). Intellectual Viewpoint. Killing the fetus because of her own selfish acts should notbe an option for such women. The third group is the "don'trock the boat" group, who go along with the party line without reallythinking the issues through. Marquis counters this with the example of someone who, in a momentof despair, believes their life is worthless and their future has no value,and attempts suicide (Marquis 189-198). 15 May 2 4. However, he does extend the theory to cover the fact that he doesnot believe killing is wrong in all cases, such as in active euthanasia.Here he differs with those who believe in sanctity-of-human-life theories,who hold that euthanasia is wrong, even where there is good reason for it,independent of public policy in this regard. Likewise, a fetus could have a very satisfying and productivefuture ahead of it without being aware of it. Don Marquis, in his paper Why Abortion isImmoral sets about an eloquent argument that performing an abortion is inthe same moral category as killing another human being (Marquis 183, 189-198, 2 1-2 2). Killing, then, is wrong because itdeprives an individual of their future. The major consequences, he believes are that killing aperson "deprives them of all the experiences, activities, projects, andenjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one's future" (Marquis 189-198( This, Marquis argues, makes killing wrong because the killing"inflicts one of the greatest possible losses on the victim" (Marquis 189-198). It isdifficult to argue with marquis's logic. Works CitedBohannon, Larry. Like the Intellectual Viewpoint, he also believes thechoice should be made before conception takes place, not afterwards.Bohannon blames the feminist movement for creating a mythical strugglebetween men and women to further their political goals. The future of a standardfetus includes "a set of experiences, projects, activities, and such whichare identical with the futures of adult human beings and are identical withthe future of young children... Again, heargues for advertising campaigns to reach these people. All three of these viewpoints share the belief that killing is wrong,even if the victim is still in the womb, and that it is against God's lawto take a life. Aborting a fetusbecause it has some genetic defect is also not acceptable, since with therapid advances being made in medical science, these problems may be able tobe corrected in the near future. The counter argument to Marquis' theory is that if killing is wrongbecause it takes away a future which is of value to someone, then killing afetus is not wrong because it is incapable of placing a value on itsfuture. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.