The Objective Validity of Certain Moral Values Essay

The Objective Validity of Certain Moral Values - Essay Example A woman, for instance, has right not to be raped. She is the owner of her body, this is the most intimate item that any person can own, and to suffer sexual assaults or violations is reprehensible. Some have argued, based on different cultural values, that a husband ought to be able to rape his wife. A legal arrangement, however, is no moral basis for overcoming the moral right that a woman has to protect her own body from unwanted actions. This situation can be contrasted with certain types of justifiable homicide; to be sure, there are situations where the killing of another human being may be justified in terms of self-defense. There is no such competing moral value, such as the self-preservation of one's life, in the case of rape. It is wrong in all instances. It is objectively wrong because the right to control the sexual use of one's body is a predominant moral right, and any moral standard prohibiting the rape of a woman is objectively valid in all situations. Moreover, there are certain ethnic rights which deserve protection in all situations. An ethnic group, for example, has a moral right not to be targeted for genocide. This is to be distinguished from conflicts or wars in which armed combat results in death.