Is Abortion Wrong?

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Is Abortion Wrong?
Is Abortion Wrong?
II
II
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Judith Jarvis Thomson A Defense of Abortion
Thomsons Project

• Thomson grants for the sake of argument the
  premise that a fertilized egg is a person.
• Thomson challenges the idea that one can argue
  effectively from this premise to the conclusion
  that all abortion is morally impermissible.
• Thomson claims that the Basic Argument cannot
  justify the notion that all abortion is morally
  impermissible.

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The Basic Argument (95)

• The squidge is a person and every person has a
  right to life.
• Therefore, the squidge has a right to life.
• The mother has a right to decide what happens in
  and to her body.
• But the squidges right to life outweighs the
  mothers right to decide what happens in and to
  her body.
• Therefore, the squidge may not be killed an
  abortion may not be performed.

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Thomson suggests the following (minimal case)

• Sometimes abortion is morally permissible at
  least in (some?) cases where an abortion is
  necessary to save the life of the mother, and
  (some?) cases where pregnancy stems from rape.

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The Extreme View (96)

• Abortion is morally impermissible, even where it
  is necessary to save the mothers life.

• The Basic Argument does not justify the Extreme
  View.
• The Basic Argument does not invoke the mothers
  right to life, which, along with the squidges,
  cannot both be satisfied.

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Another Argument in Support of the Extreme View
(96)
Suppose a woman has become pregnant, but learns
she has a heart condition such that she will die
if she carries the squidge to term.

• In killing the squidge, one would be directly
  killing an innocent person.
• Directly killing an innocent person is murder.
• Murder is morally impermissible.
• Therefore, killing the squidge is morally
  impermissible.
• Thomson claims this argument also fails.

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The Famous Violinist Thought Experiment
Thought Experiment Argument from analogy.
You are kidnapped by the Society of Music Lovers,
plugged into a world-famous violinist to share
your kidney.

• Version 1 The violinist will die if unplugged.
• Version 2 Saving the violinist is killing you.

Thomson attacks the second premise of the
Argument for the Extreme View (directly killing
an innocent person is murder), or possibly the
third premise (murder is morally impermissible).

• Directly killing the violinist is not morally
  impermissible.
• So, directly killing an innocent is not always
  morally impermissible.

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The Famous Violinist Thought Experiment
If anything in the world is true, it is that you
do not commit murder, you do not do what is
impermissible if you reach around your back and
unplug yourself from that violinist to save your
life. (97)

• So at least in the case of rape-induced
  pregnancy, an abortion would not be morally
  impermissible.
• This alone is enough to show the Argument for the
  Extreme View fails.
• So we should reject the Extreme View.

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What the Right to Life is Not
Even where we grant that the squidge has a right
to life
The right to life does not include a right to be
given at least the bare minimum of what one needs
for continued life (98-99).

• If it did, then there would be a very short
  argument to prohibiting abortion except in cases
  where the squidges life threatened the mothers
  life.

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Henry Fonda Thought Experiment
Would Henry Fonda be acting in a
morallyimpermissible way if he refused to
flyout to put his hand on your feveredbrow,
given that this is the only wayto save your life?

• We dont, by having a right to life, havea right
  to the bare minimum of what weneed for continued
  life.

The right to life does not amount tothe right
not to be killed by anyone.If it did, then there
would be a very short argument to
prohibitingabortion except perhaps in
caseswhere the squidges life threatenedthe
mothers life.
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Famous Violinist Thought Experiment Revisited
The fact that for continued life that
violinist needs the continued use of your kidneys
does not establish that he has a right to be
given the continued use of your kidneys. (99)

• Just as it would be very nice for Henry Fonda to
  fly across the country to put his hand to your
  fevered brow to save your life, it would be very
  nice if you continue to let the violinist use
  your kidneys but he does not have a right to
  your kidneys, even granted that he has a right to
  life.
• Just the same, the squidges right to life does
  not amount to the right to continue to use the
  mothers body without her consent.

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What the Right to Life Is and What this Might
Imply About Abortion
The right to life consists not in the right
not to be killed, but rather in the right not to
be killed unjustly. (100).

• So even granting that the squidge has a right to
  life, for abortions to be shown to be morally
  impermissible, it must be shown that abortion
  kills the squidge unjustly.

If this is what the right to life amounts to,
then abortions are morally permissible

• in (some) cases in which the squidge threatens
  the mothers life
• in (some) cases in which the mothers pregnancy
  has resulted from rape and
• in some cases in which the mother has
  conscientiously used contraception, but this
  contraception has failed.

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People Seeds Thought Experiment
As opposed to cases of pregnancy resulting from
rape, it seems reasonable to think that a woman
who voluntarily engages in sex with the full
knowledge that she might become pregnant, it
seems the squidge has some claim to live off of
the mother.

• But even this depends on the details.

Suppose people-seeds drifted about in the air
like pollen, and if you open your windows, one
may drift in and take root in your carpet or
upholstery.

• You dont want children, so you fit your windows
  with a fine mesh, the very best you can buy.
• As it happens, one somehow slips through and
  takes root.
• Does this person-plant who now develops have a
  right to the use of your house?

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People Seeds Thought Experiment
If the people-seeds do not have a right to live
and develop in your living room carpet, why
should a squidge have a right to live in the womb
of a woman who has conscientiously used
contraception, but which has failed through no
fault of the woman?