Understanding what the wrong-making feature of killing is helps to understand why those who are opposed to abortion may think certain (consensual) mercy-killings are morally acceptable.…
After reading “A defense of Abortion” by Judith Jarvis Thomson and what he had to say with his violinist analogy involving the kidney replacement. I agree with what he has to say on not only abortion itself but, whether or not a fetus should have the right to the women’s body. I don’t think that the fetus should be given the right to use the women’s body because what if she does not what to have a baby and ends up getting pregnant anyway. Also, each time a woman engages in sexual intercourse, she is not inviting the fetus to live inside her body. This is why birth control and other contraceptives are not a sure deal when dealing with sexual intercourse. What if the birth control method fails and the women end's up getting pregnant? She did…
The title is somewhat misleading because it's not a complete defense of Abortion it's more of a minimal defense. In Thomson's essay, she states that Abortion is not necessarily morally impermissible which means that there are times when it is permissible and there are times when it is not. She begins the essay by pointing out that people debate on whether or not a fetus is a person. Many people feel that If we had an answer to that then that would make things a whole lot simpler and we would know that if a fetus was a person then it would be morally impermissible to go forth with an abortion and if the fetus wasn't a person that it would be morally permissible to have an abortion. For the sake of argument, she goes on to say that a fetus is a person and even though that may be the case there are still many scenarios in which abortion is morally permissible.…
Other pro-choice advocates such as Judith Jarvis Thomson argue contrary to the moral argument (personhood) they argue for body autonomy which places the interest of the woman first. Central to the view is the claim that no human being regardless of their moral status is permitted to use another human beings body against his or her will as a means to an end or an end in itself. Therefore the human fetus does not have the right to occupy the woman's body for survival if it is against her will.…
She then provides her “Violinist Argument,” where a person has been kidnapped and connected to the circulatory system of a famous violinist. The violinist has a disease that can only be cured if their blood is filtered through the kidneys of the “donor” for nine months. Thompson argues that, while doing so would be a very nice gesture, it is not expected of the donor and therefor it would not be morally wrong if the person decided to unplug his or herself from the violinist and cause the violinist to die. (353) Thompson bases this off of the premise that doing so would not be violating his right to life, but would simply be denying him the use of the donor’s body, which is something that he does not have any rights…
The right to life, still, does not allow an abortion in this case. This runs into another point Thomson makes where the pregnancy would shorten the mother’s life. Some still say abortion is impermissible even to save the mother’s life. Both people, mother and fetus, have a right to life. Presumably their right to life is equal.…
Conservative- Human life begins at conception. Abortion is the murder of a human being. An unborn baby, as a living human being, has separate rights from those of the mother. Oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. Taxpayer dollars should not be used for the government to provide abortions. Support legislation to…
In order for him to totally recuperate you must remain attached to him for nine months (Thomson, 48 - 50). According to Thomson, although it would be quite gracious of you to accommodate the violinist, you are by no means required to remain plugged to him, because he has no claim right to his life and because you have not consensually volunteered to sustain his life. This example is convincing because it is applicable to cases in which a woman is raped and the moral permissibility of her aborting the resulting fetus is put into question. Similar to the case of the violinist, if a woman was raped, she has no obligation to keep the fetus alive, since she did not volunteer to create or support the fetus; thus, if she decides not to abort the fetus it is gracious but certainly not…
That a fetus has the right not to be killed unjustly, not not be killed, and the right to life, but not whatever it takes to sustain that life (such as in the example of the kidney donor), and this is an important distinction. This view protects the rights of the fetus, but also protects the rights and autonomy of the mother. Further, it recognizes that some rights are stronger than other rights, giving the mother the proper moral rights as not only a fully realized person, but one that would have to give the fetus life as well. Due to these reasons, I find Thompson’s argument as to why abortion is morally permissible the most…
Abortion has many different meanings to various people. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy before a fetus is formed. Abortions are most likely to occur before the third trimester. Roe v. Wade was a lawsuit that established the unconstitutionality of forbidding abortion from women. The Supreme Court stated that the decision of abortion should be left up to the doctor and the patient. The Due Process Clause protects people with the right to privacy and therefore, this should include a women’s right to terminate a pregnancy. Most liberals and democrats agree that women should be able to have the right to do what they want with their bodies, no matter how cruel one might think it is. Conservative republicans on the other hand consider the possible child a human and are fighting for the rights of the non-existent child. Both sides are heavily opinionated which…
One of the biggest moral issue today is woman's rights with abortion. Many people argued for the rights to keep abortion while others argued for banning it. In the article "The Rights of a Woman Do Not Outweigh the Rights of A Child" by Judith Jarvis Thomson, who is a philosopher and invented an analogy for her debate, talks about how a child has more right than the mother in the case of abortion and that abortion is the same thing as "killing" , Thomson says. Thomson claims the idea that anyone can argue that all abortion is impermissible. The article "Abortions Should Be Restricted to Before Twenty Weeks Gestation" by Douglas Johnson who is…
A. The ‘Conservative Argument’ is based on two premises: it is wrong to kill an innocent human, and fetuses are innocent humans; therefore abortion is wrong (Singer, 1979, p.107). Whilst this argument is valid, there have been many attempts to show that the second premise is wrong. The primary method to show this has been to find the “moral dividing line” between fetus and human, most notably viability, when the fetus can exist independently (Singer, 1979, p.107-108). This main objection is flawed as countries have different levels of technology, which influences the age a fetus can be independent, meaning for developing countries the line drawn would be far later than developed countries (Singer, 1979, p.109). This is substantial as location…
You are asked to imagine a famous violinist falling into a coma. The society of music lovers determines from medical records that you and you alone can save the violinist's life by being hooked up to him for nine months. The music lovers break into your home while you are asleep and hook the unconscious (and unknowing, hence innocent) violinist to you. You may want to unhook him, but you are then faced with this argument put forward by the music lovers: The violinist is an innocent person with a right to life. Unhooking him will result in his death. Therefore, unhooking him is morally wrong.…
Abortion is a heavily debated issue in our country. Many people believe it is immoral and unethical, while some see it as a necessity. Whether the fetus is one or forty-five weeks old, many still see it as murder. At what point of the term of a woman’s pregnancy, is a fetus considered a human being? This issue is still up for further debate. The debate in regards to abortion stems from whether a woman should have the right to end her pregnancy or give birth. I personally do not believe in abortion, however, I also believe it is a woman’s right to make that decision, especially in situations regarding teen pregnancy, financial hardships, rape, and incest. The following paragraphs will describe these circumstances in greater detail, supporting why I support pro choice abortion rights.…
A dilemma is brewing for the society as a whole today in the name of abortion which has become a controversial issue that faces everyone countrywide. Abortion is defined as the forcible removal of a developing baby from the womb of his or her mother, using surgical, involuntary, or chemical means. Nowadays, abortion has been a very popular and debatable topic because of the moral and ethical issue associated with it. The most momentous moment in the history of abortion in America was the Roe vs. Wade case, which allowed the option of abortions legal to women across the nation. Today struggle still remains on the moral ethics behind it and the question is asked, “Is abortion the murder of an unborn child?” and the other question asked today is, “should abortion be declared illegal?” The debate over abortion in the United States historically holds ground both politically and socially. America is split into two sides; pro - choice and pro – life, both sides have their points that they stand on. To sum it up, either a living human is or isn’t being killed, and case between life or liberty is born. The differences make it hard to settle the two sides. Though it looks like both sides will never compromise they do share some similarities. Both sides to the abortion controversy share a common objective, which is to make abortion safer, and the overall number of abortions should reduce. There is much debate whether this is an action of life or death, and the difference is rather large. Our nation is split over the legal and moral status of abortion. The two sides of abortion, are the "pro-choice” and the "pro-life." In simple terms, a pro-choice individual believes that the choice to abort a pregnancy is to be made only by the woman; the state should not interfere. A pro-life advocate believes from the second of conception, the fetus is alive; and has rights thus abortion is the…