Thomson's Arguments Against Abortion

Words: 773
Pages: 4
Open Document
Judith Jarvis Thomson and Rosalind Hursthouse have opposing opinions in regards to what the central issue is when it comes to abortion. Thomson is right in her claim that the central issue when it comes to abortion is the pregnant woman’s obligations in the dace of the fetus’s right to life.

Thomson explains that it is hard to draw the line when it comes to the development of the fetus- in terms of when an abortion should be performed and when it shouldn’t. When does a fetus become an actual human person? Those who are opposed to abortion explain that a fetus is a person, but fail to explain how that makes abortion morally impermissible. According to some who are opposed to abortion, a fetus is a person for the moment of conception- and because …show more content…
Some people who oppose abortion make exceptions when the pregnancy is due to rape. But with that logic, does that mean that people only have a right to life if they came into existence because of rape? It seems that some have less of a right to life than others do- those who are a product of rape seem to have less of a right.

One argument of Thomson’s, in particular, stands out in terms of proving her point. She starts off by stating the known fact that depriving someone of what they have a right to is an example of unjust treatment. The right to life only consists of the right not to be killed unjustly. If someone is not killed unjustly, then their right to life is not being violated- and the killing is not considered to be unjust. This brings forth a gap in a common argument against abortion- can abortion really be considered unjust if we do not know for certain that killing the fetus is violating its right to life?Knowing that the fetus is a person, and that all people have the right to life, is not enough to prove this point. For example, in the case of rape, the mother does not give the unborn child “permission” to use her body for nutrients and shelter- therefore, the …show more content…
Because those children do not have the right to their mothers’ bodies, an abortion is not depriving them of anything. In that case, because they are not being deprived of anything, then the killing is not unjust. Therefore, abortion can be justified, regardless of whether the child was a product of rape or not. Abortion can be justified by the arguments Thomson puts forth in her article (among various others that were not brought up,) therefore it should be permitted- and not just in the instances of
Show More

Related Documents: Thomson's Arguments Against Abortion

Judith Thomson's People Seeds Abortion Argument

Philosophy allows individuals to instead consider arguments for what they might want to believe to be true - and that is exactly what I will do in this paper. I will present an objection to Judith Thomson’s People Seeds Argument and I will present a defense to Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory of Kantianism. On pages 563-4 in Vaughn, we discover Thomson’s People Seeds Argument, which is a Pro-Abortion argument-by-analogy. The analogy in the argument…

Words 1470 - Pages 6

Essay about Right

Erin Grogan Second Short Paper A Defense of Abortion In Judith Thomson’s paper Defense for Abortion, she provides examples that argue in favor of abortion to declare that it is permissible. Thomson states an implicit argument that she believes many philosophers presuppose. Premise one is that the fetus has a right to life. Premise two states that the mother has a right to say what happens to and in her body. Premise three says the fetus’ right to life outweighs the mother’s right to say what happens…

Words 1194 - Pages 5

Abortion " Matters of Life and Death Casts Dispersions on Both Pro-Abortion and Anti-Abortion Debates" Essay

Abortion A. Jonathan Glover, in his article Matters of Life and Death casts dispersions on both pro-abortion and anti-abortion debates citing them as too knee-jerk emotional reactions diminishing the inherent complexity of the other side (1. Glover, CC2006, p. 0110). Glover comprehensively addresses the key points of both sides of the abortion debate and evaluates their inherent virtues, especially for those who hold these opinions, then methodically points out its flaws. Ultimately, Glover comes…

Words 1992 - Pages 8

What Is Judith Thomson Argument For The Defense Of Abortion

demonstrate the main ideas of Judith Thomson’s argument for the defense of abortion. Thomson’s final point is that a fetus’s right to life is not stronger than the mother’s right to have control over her body. She begins her paper by stating that a fetus is not a person from the moment of conception. Many arguments that are against abortion state that a fetus is a human being from the second of conception, and therefore abortion is like a murder. However, for her argument Thomson acts as if the fetus…

Words 480 - Pages 2

Warren Thomson Abortion Analysis

The common conflict that arises in determining the morality of abortion is between the rights of the mother and the unborn. Warren and Thomson both argue the permissibility of abortion on the grounds of a fetus’ lack of personhood; and women’s rights, respectively. In contrast to Warren, Marquis cleverly avoids the “personhood” trap in his argument against abortion. Unlike Thomson, Marquis does not address women’s rights, but rather understands what is truly at the heart of the issue: a choice between…

Words 1136 - Pages 5

Don Marquis Argument Analysis

Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of the human pregnancy, typically performed before the first 28 weeks. In this paper, I will discuss the moral permissibility of performing any type of abortion, and I will refute Don Marquis argument against abortion as it fails to consider the mother’s autonomy and rights. Marquis has demonstrated the impermissibility of abortion in his paper Why abortion is immoral. After analyzing the standard pro-choice, and pro-life arguments, he concluded…

Words 972 - Pages 4

Biomedical Ethics I Essay

A possible retort from Rachels to this objection would be that focusing on that aspect of the argument is short-sighted. Defining and outlining the actions that took place convey Rachels’ argument in a much clearer sense. In the Smith and Jones example, Rachels tries to show that Jones’ non-intervention caused the boy’s death in the same way that Smith’s active killing of the boy did. In Rachels’ argument, Jones’ actions would be similar to a doctor refusing to treat a man injured by a dagger wound…

Words 1178 - Pages 5

Pro-Abortion Essay

Abortion, defined as the deliberate and voluntary act of terminating a pregnancy by means of removing a foetus from a woman’s uterus, provides many ethical concerns as to whether it may be characterised as morally permissible or impermissible. For this argument, I will support two contentions to suggest that abortion is ethically acceptable; first, that foetuses are not persons and therefore are not morally considerable, and second, that regardless of the moral considerations given to the foetus…

Words 2616 - Pages 11

Ethical paper on abortion

For my topic I am choosing to write about the ethical importance of abortion. There have been many arguments as to whether abortion should be kept legal or mad illegal. There are many ways that abortion is looked at to be against morality. Abortion goes against morality because it is considered murder and goes against the word of God. It has been clearly stated that a life begins at conception, with that being said abortion is considered murder. He or she starts out as a fetus but well before…

Words 1092 - Pages 5

A Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomson

this essay, I will argue that in the article by Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion”, her argument that the killing of an innocent person is permissible in some cases, is morally acceptable. In this article, Thomson argues that abortion can be permissible some cases, for example rape, when a woman is forced to participate in the act of sex, which may lead to pregnancy. I agree with Judith Jarvis’ argument because in the case of rape, a woman’s body is violated and once pregnant she would…

Words 1268 - Pages 6