L30 Phil 131F Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Judith Thompson, Fetus, Cell Culture
12 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
Abortion is a form of murder because it deprives the fetus of any future value. Murder is wrong because of this impact it has on the victim. The loss of life is the greatest loss one can sustain. Murder is wrong because it deprives a person of their future value, therefore killing a human fetus is wrong because it deprives them of any future value. Murder is prima facie wrong because of the loss of a future. If murder is wrong because of the loss of the subject"s future, then animals (mammals) should not be killed because it destroys their possible future. But other people can see value in your future, making it valuable. Since it is wrong to kill persons, it is therefore also wrong to kill potential persons. Abortion is therefore equivalent to killing an adult human being in the moral regard. Life is present from the moment of conception.
