Deck 47: Why Abortion Is Immoral Don Marquis

Question 1

Marquis believes his own theory of the wrongness of killing entails that contraception is

A) morally impermissible.
B) morally required.
C) morally permissible.
D) morally excusable in rare cases.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

How does Marquis propose to resolve the standoff in the abortion debate?

A) By resolving the question of what makes an entity a person
B) By first identifying what makes it wrong to kill an adult human being
C) By appealing to commonly held religious beliefs
D) By uncovering the shared intuitions at the basis of both the pro-choice and the anti-abortion positions

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Marquis argues that the anti-abortionist's moral principles regarding killing are often too _______, whereas the pro-choicer's moral principles are often too _______.

A) broad; narrow
B) narrow; broad
C) concrete; abstract
D) abstract; concrete

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to Marquis, murder is wrong because it

A) brutalizes the murderer.
B) inflicts a terrible loss on the victim's loved ones.
C) violates the sanctity of human life.
D) deprives the victim of a valuable future.

Question 5

Which of the following implications does Marquis cite to make his theory of the wrongness of killing seem more plausible?

A) It is compatible with the belief that killing certain kinds of nonhuman beings is wrong.
B) It fits well with the attitudes of the dying.
C) It justifies the belief that infanticide is immoral.
D) All of the above

Question 6

According to Marquis, which of the following matters most in determining the permissibility of abortion?

A) A fetus is a genetic person.
B) A fetus has a valuable future.
C) A fetus has a right to life.
D) A fetus is a potential person.

Question 7

Marquis believes his argument establishes that

A) killing is prima facie seriously wrong.
B) human personhood begins at conception.
C) abortion should be made illegal.
D) abortion is always immoral.

Question 8

A property may explain the wrongness of killing only if

A) the explanation is intuitively plausible.
B) no other property provides a better explanation.
C) the property is possessed only by fetuses.
D) Both a and b

Question 9

Marquis believes that abortion's moral status can be resolved without establishing whether a fetus is a human person.

Question 10

Marquis believes that the wrongness of killing depends on its effect on the victim.

Question 11

Marquis's analysis begins with the assumption that murder is wrong.

Question 12

Marquis supposes that it is wrong to kill only beings who are biologically human.

Question 13

According to Marquis, contraception is permissible because the subject of the loss cannot be identified.

Question 14

Marquis's theory of the wrongness of killing entails that abortion and active euthanasia are both inherently immoral.

Question 15

Marquis argues that, because it is wrong to kill persons, it is also wrong to kill potential persons.

Question 16

Marquis argues that respect for persons entails that abortion is almost always wrong.

Question 17

In Marquis's view, that a being would be denied a valuable future provides compelling reason not to end that being's life.

Question 18

If fetuses were scientifically shown to lack properties characteristic of personhood, Marquis's argument would be refuted.

Question 19

Is it presumptively wrong to kill a fetus to save the life of the pregnant woman? What would Marquis say about this? Do you agree?

Question 20

Do some fetuses have more valuable futures than others? Why or why not? What implications does your answer have for the abortion debate? In explaining your position, be sure to make reference to Marquis's argument about the immorality of abortion.

Question 21

What two considerations does Marquis argue support the claim that killing a being with a valuable future is wrong? How much support do these claims lend to Marquis's central claim? What other considerations, if any, may lend additional support to Marquis' conclusion?

Question 22

Marquis argues that both the typical anti-abortion argument and the typical pro-choice argument feature a similar mistake. What is that mistake? What is Marquis's argument for the wrongness of abortion? Does it avoid the mistake he claims is present in the other arguments?