Are there Good Consequentialist Arguments Against Non-Reproductively Oriented Sexual Activity?
The main consequentialist argument in the area of sexual morality is the one discussed above in connection with Technique 6. What that argument supports, however, is not the view that sexual activity that is not reproductively oriented is wrong, but the idea that it is best if there is no sex outside of marriage. So while it supports part of a traditional view, it provides no support for the part that we are considering here. As far as that earlier consequentialist argument goes – with its appeal to sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancies, and the breakdown of marriages – there is nothing wrong with married couples enjoying sexual activity for whatever reason they have in mind. IIC. Arguments Against the Reproductive View of Sexual Activity? The main considerations here were mentioned in the previous lecture. First, there are certain counterexamples: (1) A married couple who are no longer physically able to have children; (2) A married couple who have many children, and who
