A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson

What does Thomson argue in this essay?

Even if a fetus is a person at conception, at least some abortions could still be morally permissible.

A fetus may have a right to life, but this right does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another persons body-even if one needs it for life itself

What does Thomson allow for the sake of the argument?

she grants that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception and that since every person has a right to life, the fetus has a right to life

What does Thomson argue in her violinist example?

you wake up, kidnapped, and have your circulatory system connected to a famous violinist who only you can save. if you unplug yourself from him it will kill him.

it would not be morally impermissible for you to disconnect yourself from the violinist

What does Thomson say if a woman has become pregnant and then learns that she has a cardiac condition such that she will die if she carries the baby to term?

She says that the argument that performing the abortion would be directly killing the child, but this is false because it cannot be thought to be murder if the mother performs an abortion on herself to save her life.

What does Thomson say about what a third party may do in the case of a mother getting an abortion to save her life?

She says that to take into account a third party would be to refuse to grant to the mother that very status of person which is so firmly insisted on for the fetus

What is Thomson’s giant baby in a house argument?

You find yourself in a tiny house with a rapidly growing child and you will be crushed to death but the child wont. If a bystander said “theres nothing we can do for you. We cannot choose between your life and his…”.

Thomson says that one should remember that the woman is the person that houses the baby

What does Thomson say about not claiming people have a right to do anything to save their lives?

She thinks that there are drastic limits to self defense.

She thinks that if someone threatens your with death unless you torture someone else to death, you have not the right, to even save your life

what does Thomson say about the argument that while abortion is permissible to save the mothers life, it may not be performed by a third party, but only by the mother their self?

Thomson says “the mother owns the house” and she must be granted the right to decide what to do with her body

What is Thomson’s Jones and Smith’s coat argument?

If Jones has put o his coat, which he needs to keep himself from freezing, but Smith also needs it, its not impartiality that says “I cannot choose between you” when SMITH OWNS the coat.

She thinks that it must be granted that someone has the right to choose to intervene. So it leaves it open that someone else can intervene

What does Thomson say about the situation in which a woman wants an abortion for some less weighty reason than preserving her own life?

those that argue that the fetus has the right to life and this right is weightier than the mothers own right to life is mistaken. She argues what the right to life means and says it does not mean one has the right to control ones body

Thomson’s Henry Fonda Argument

if she is sick and the only thing that will save her life is the touch of Henry Fonda’s hand on her brow, she has NO RIGHT to be give the touch of Henry Fonda’s hand. Nobody has this right unless GIVEN IT.

What does Thomson say about the right of life being not to be killed by anybody?

Does the violist have the right against everyone to refrain from unplugging you from him? If you do allow him to use them, it is a kindness on your part, and not something you owe him.

What does Thomson argue about the right to life?

having a right to life does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person’s body-even if one needs it for life itself.

Thomson’s Burgular Argument

If one opens a window and a burgular climbs in, it would be absurd to say “now he can stay, shes given him a right to the use of her house -for she is partially responsible fpr his presence there, having voluntarily done what enabled him to get in, in full knowledge that there are burglars, and that burgulars burgle.”

Thomson’s Box of Chocolates Argument

a box of chocolate is given to a boy instead of two boys jointly. It does not follow from the truth that he brother without the chocolates has any right to any of the chocolates. If the boy refuses to give his brother any, he is greedy, but not unjust.

Thomson’s Good Samaritan Argument

There are no laws in this country that require anyone to be merely minimally decent samaritans, but women are compelled by law in many states to be good samaritans to unborn persons inside them

What does Thomson say about the argument that the fetus is a person for whom the woman has a special kind of responsibility issuing from the fact that she is its mother?

We do not have any such “special responsibility” for a person unless we have assumed it, explicitly or implicitly.

If a set of parents have taken all reasonable precautions against having a child, they do not simply by virtue of their biological relationship to the child who comes into existence have a special responsibility for it.