A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson

A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson

Introduction

Abortion is a highly debated topic. It has an active tug of arguments between the anti-abortion and abortion advocates. However, one cannot agree on a uniform rule as to when abortion is (morally) allowed and when it is not. A universally valid judgment or such a solution does not exist. The abortion opponents and proponents are trying with their arguments, however, to convince them. In her essay, "A Defense of Abortion", JJ Thomson is on the opposing side in order to refute this with examples and theories. She comes from various case studies, which I will take up in the paper to discuss. The aim of the essay is to show that there are cases to be distinguished in case of loading or condemnation of abortion. I will present JJ Thomson's argument structure in the paper.

Discussion

To put themselves better into the role and the conflict of the mother, I would like to represent different specific cases, from which the argument of Ms. Thomson will be clearer and examined by me from confusion. However, I must note that the cases represent only selected and specific backgrounds. If these backgrounds were changed only slightly, we will be able to see some different arguments and conclusions.

Abortion opponents argued that every person has the right to life. As the fetus, such as Thomson awarded the opponents, a person has a right to life. The mother does have a right to decide what happens to their body. Is the right to life of the fetus is not more than the decision to the mother? If that question is answered with "Yes", an abortion of the fetus would not be allowed. Ms. Thomson takes the violinist example here to help, “I should imagine I had been kidnapped and connected to the bloodstream of a violinist, so my kidneys got him alive. It represents, therefore, that I am involuntarily in the situation”. The violinist example is transferable to our case.

All persons have a right to life only if they had not been conceived by rape. Ms. Thomson believes that all human beings have a right to live, no matter how they came into being, but a right to life does not mean to have the same time to have the right to the use of another's body. In the case of the rape of the mother, it outweighs the right to decide about her body than the right to life of the fetus. After all, who has the right to decide that a fetus cannot live? The mother has to decide only about the right if they want their child to live or not. She loses her life by removing the result of this decision, so do not be equated with it (Beckwith, 1993).

Abortion opponents are based on the radical view that the killing of the fetus by abortion meant to violate her right to life. So the abortion would not be allowed, ...