Judith Jarvis Thomsons Defence on Abortion - 2268 Words

Judith Jarvis Thomsons defence on abortion Most arguments concerning the abortion issue hinge on the moral status or standing of the fetus with respect to the rights it possesses and the obligations that are directly owed to it. These arguments typically fall into two commonly termed categories: pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life advocates tend to place the status of the fetus first. They argue human beings including a fetus, have an intrinsic value that confers them the right not to be unjustly killed. Conversely, some pro-choice advocates argue the fetus lacks a virtuous characteristic that affords it any rights or significant morals, this is usually termed the personhood argument. Other pro-choice advocates such as Judith Jarvis†¦show more content†¦Here Thomson assumes that both scenarios will reveal the same conclusion. Just as the reader (1) is under no moral obligation to use his body to support the violinist, a woman (2) is under no obligation to support a human fetus. So Thomsons analogy has directed the reader to the conclusion, that abortion as in the case of unhooking oneself from the violinist is sometimes morally permissible. Pro-life apologist Gregory Koukl (2003) declared when first hearing the argument â€Å"it shock me up so much I almost had to pull over† he continued â€Å"The reasoning in the violinist illustration is very tight† prima facie â€Å"Thompson accurately represents firstly the pro-life position and then offers a scenario for consideration. Thompsons analysis also employs two powerful techniques of argumentation: a moral example followed by a logical slippery slope. The logical slippery slope works like this. When one thing is immoral, and the second is logically similar in a morally relevant way, the moral quality of one slips over into the other. For example, it is immoral to murder and some think that capital punishment is similar enough to murder to make capital punishment immoral too†. Thomsons analogy aimed for the response that Koukl conferred. Thomson aimed to sway, if only for a brief moment, the moral intuition of the reader, theShow MoreRelatedA Defense O f Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomson1549 Words   |  7 Pagesto self-defence but only in certain cases, for example, rape or where the mother’s life would be at risk if she did not have an abortion. In such circumstances, the woman’s right to self-defence outweighs a fetus’ right to life, however I would not allow that the mother’s right outweighs the fetus’ if the mother wanted to have an abortion of convenience because this denies the child of possible future experiences. Firstly, I will outline Judith Jarvis Thomson’s argument for self-defence. In her articleRead MoreEssay about Is Abortion Ever Justfied?2400 Words   |  10 Pages Is abortion ever justified? If not, why? If it depends, then on what? It is not unreasonable to suggest that the vast majority of people consider it morally wrong to kill other persons. There may be examples of situations where the killing of a person may be justifiable, although they are by no means universally consented to, such as killing in self defence or as a form of capital punishment, but taken in isolation it is generally accepted that to kill is wrong. Therefore in the debate betweenRead MoreA Modern Controversy: the Case of George Tiller Essay8892 Words   |  36 Pageswomen in need of help. For two decades, Dr Tiller spent his life looking over his shoulder. He had become a lightning rod for anti-abortion activists and in 1993 survived an attempt on his life. He rarely talked about his work for fear of attacks against himself or his family. Dr Tillers clinic was one of three in the US that offered what are known as late-term abortions. WHAT IS LATE TERM?Late term mostly centres on the notion of the viability of the foetus - this is widely interpreted as whenRead MoreAbortion : A Feminist Polemic4215 Words   |  17 PagesAbortion: A Feminist Polemic Bioethics is the study of widely disputed ethical issues that stem from the contentions brought about by modern advancements in biology and medicine. The field’s focus on ethical healthcare and life sciences is specifically relevant to the vehement polemic regarding abortion. This argument has amassed a vast and varied following of individuals and groups, motivated by feminism, religious ethics, politics and medical ethics. I have chosen a feminist focus for my inquiry