title: Avoiding the Personhood Issue: Abortion, Identity, and Marquis's 'Future-Like-Ours' Argument.
abstract: One reason for the persistent appeal of Don Marquis' 'future like ours' argument (FLO) is that it seems to offer a way to approach the debate about the morality of abortion while sidestepping the difficult task of establishing whether the fetus is a person. This essay argues that in order to satisfactorily address both of the chief objections to FLO - the 'identity objection' and the 'contraception objection' - Marquis must take a controversial stand on what is most essential to being the kind of entity that an adult human being is. Such a stand amounts to a controversial account of personhood. To the extent that FLO's success depends on accepting such a controversial metaphysical view, one apparent attraction of FLO proves illusory.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reitan
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics*; D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous; D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception / Q000941:ethics*; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D005333:Fetus; D006708:Homicide / Q000941:ethics; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D008678:Metaphysics; D028681:Moral Obligations; D000072577:Moral Status; D028723:Personhood; D012933:Social Identification; D026712:Value of Life
keywords: Future Like Ours; abortion; contraception; ethics; personal identity; personhood