The argument for the impermissibility of abortion
The widely disputed argument about abortion being wrong has been a subject of heated debates. Still, an agreement between the opponents and the proponents of the position has never been reached. According to the argument made by Don Marquis, abortion is seriously wrong in a moral sense because it involves killing a human being that has a right to life, which means robbing that human being of his or her future that so many people value. However, this argument can be objected to the statement that abortion is a tool that protects women from ill-conceived childbearing (Tarico) and allows men and women to create families that they want to create. While abortion may be wrong from a physical point of view (killing an underdeveloped human being), it allows people to make choices, which is a necessary right to have. Because deciding whether to bring a new life to the world is the most significant decision one could ever make, forcing people in one direction or another is a counter-productive measure for society as a whole.
The following two formulas can explain why abortion is not wrong: X has a right to live if and only if X is a fully-developed biological human being; X has a right to live if and only if X has formed a set of psychological characteristics that make X a human being. In almost all cases of abortion, the mentioned characteristics are not developed. To counter these formulas, the following formula can be proposed: Killing X is wrong in a moral sense because X potentially has a future like all other human beings, and killing X is equal to depriving X of the future.
Kinds of substance that adults should be allowed to consume without a prescription
The use of various substances without a prescription is an issue that can encourage many arguments. However, the proponents of substance usage can assert that it should be legal for adults to consume X without prescription if and only if these substances do not pose a threat to their health or the health of the people surrounding them. Such reasoning is associated with the argument that every person is in full control of his or her life and should be able to make choices regarding the usage of some substances only in cases when there is no real adverse effect on his or her health.
Kinds of weapon ordinary adults should be allowed to possess
Similarly to the debate about abortion, the ethical discussion about gun possession raises some critical questions. For example, in what cases should ordinary adults be allowed to carry weapons? One side of the debate may argue that regular adults should possess weapon X if and only if they use it for self-defense. This point of view can be supported by the reasoning that the current state of the global society riddled with violence and terrorism leaves regular people no choice than to possess a weapon for protection. However, weapons are more regularly used in criminal assaults, suicide attempts, and homicides than self-defense (“Should People Be Allowed to Own Guns?”). For example, school shootings are a massive problem that could only exasperate with the legalization of weapons, so although all people have a right to protect themselves from violence, guns may not solve the problem, but contribute to its deterioration.
Works Cited
“Should People Be Allowed to Own Guns?” Debate, 2017, Web.
Tarico, Valerie. “I Am Pro-Abortion, not Just Pro-Choice: 10 Reasons Why We Must Support the Procedure and the Choice.” Alternet.