course. Some people will think that (on this planet, at any rate) only

humans have futures like ours. Others will think that higher animals have

futures like ours. Different people will have different views. Both are

compatible with my essay (that was deliberate on my part and explicit in the

JP version). I wanted my view to be compatible with that of a certain kind

of animal rights defender.

Presumably, we think that it is wrong to kill adults and children with, say,

Down Syndrome. I would contend that the reason is that they have futures

like ours. Therefore, it is wrong to abort a Down Syndrome fetus, if the

argument of my essay is correct. With respect to the issue of fetuses with

even greater mental handicaps, my essay (and my present view) is

indeterminate. There may be, of course, reasons of public policy for not

killing adults with really severe handicaps, even if this cannot be

justified by one's own view of what a future like ours is. Presumably,

(although I have not thought about this much) the reasons of public policy

might not apply to fetuses. But that is worth thinking about with more care

than I have ever given it, or that I am giving to the issue in this e-mail.

Thanks for the good question.

Best wishes,

Don Marquis

-----Original Message-----

From: Soderberg, Bill [mailto:bsoderbe@mc.cc.md.us]

Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 12:52 PM

To: 'dmarquis@ku.edu'

Subject: Class question
 
 

Hello Don,

I have been using your essay "Why Abortion Is Immoral" in my Ethics

class for several semesters. (I teach in the Philosophy Department at

Montgomery College in Rockville, MD.)

This week a student posed a question that I would like to pass on to

you. We have been studying the eugenics movement and recently had a Town

Meeting at our campus entitled "Gene-ism: Genetic Discrimination and Civil

Rights." Against this backdrop, the student posed a question after reading

your essay.

Her question was whether you would find it permissible to abort a

fetus if the fetus were so impaired that it would be unlikely to have "a

future like ours." I wonder whether you have addressed this question in any

detail and, if so, if you would be willing to provide us with a citation. If

not, do you have a response that I could pass on to my student?

Best regards,

Bill Soderberg