Mary Anne Warren Defense Of Abortion

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Mary Anne Warren and others argue for a liberal position on the abortion debate. A liberal view of abortion is roughly thought of as an idea that abortions should be able to be terminated at any stage in the pregnancy. In this paper, I will argue a defense of abortion, or a liberal view of abortion, using utilitarianism. I will then respond to a counterargument about the moral worth of the fetus. I will respond to this objection by looking at a strong argument by Marquis. Finally, I’ll conclude that Warren’s is the stronger position. This argument will follow a utilitarian view of the availability of abortion.
To examine the ethics of abortion, it is important to first examine utilitarianism. Utilitarianism generally follows the idea that it is important to do whatever the greatest good for the greatest amount of people is. In Michael Sandel’s book Justice, he gives a definition of utilitarianism as “the highest moral principle will be to maximize utility for the most people” (Sandel, 34). In this essay I will demonstrate how Mary Anne Warren uses this idea to build a solid foundation for her argument in favor of unfettered use of abortions.
Similar to Mary Anne Warren, I believe that abortions should always remain legal because there is no stage in fetal development in which a fetus resembles a person. Warren does make the distinction that a fetus may resemble a human being because they have a full genetic code and potential of become a person, however, Warren defines a person as someone with the capacity for rational thought, therefore a fetus might resemble a human but doesn’t resemble a person. (Warren, 11). While it is hotly contested, a fetus doesn’t have rational thought. For the most part, people would not consider a fet...

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...oes present an extremely strong argument against abortion, it is not stronger than Mary Anne Warren’s position for the reason that potential beings do not hold rights and thus have no right to a future while actual beings do hold rights and thus should have an absolute right to an abortion.
All in all, while there are many views and assessments on the ethics and morality of abortion, the utilitarianism view is clearly the best because it maximizes the utility of actual persons, and because fetuses aren't persons, they don't have to be considered in our utility calculus and can justifiably be aborted at any stage in gestation. Although the conservative view restricting abortions is very strong, it deprives actual persons of their utility in favor of the utility of potential beings and therefore in no way, shape, or form follows the general ideas of utilitarianism.

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