Question

Philosophy

How does Judith Jarvis Thomoson conceive of moral right in her approach to the issue of abortion?

Answer 1

Ans) "A Defense of Abortion" is a moral philosophy paper by Judith Jarvis Thomson first published in 1971.

- Granting for the sake of argument that the fetus has a right to life, Thomson uses thought experiments to argue that the fetus's right to life does not trump the pregnant woman's right to have jurisdiction over her body, and that induced abortion is therefore not morally impermissible.

- Her argument has many critics on both sides of the abortion debate, yet continues to receive defense.

- Thomson's imaginative examples and controversial conclusions have made "A Defense of Abortion" perhaps "the most widely reprinted essay in all of contemporary philosophy".

- Thomson says that you can now permissibly unplug yourself from the violinist even though this will cause his death: this is due to limits on the right to life, which does not include the right to use another person's body, and so by unplugging the violinist you do not violate his right to life but merely deprive him of something—the use of your body—to which he has no right. " If you do allow him to go on using your kidneys, this is a kindness on your part, and not something he can claim from you as his due."

- For the same reason, Thomson says, abortion does not violate the fetus's legitimate right to life, but merely deprives the fetus of something—the non-consensual use of the pregnant woman's body and life-support functions—to which it has no right. Thus, by choosing to terminate her pregnancy, Thomson concludes that a pregnant woman does not normally violate the fetus's right to life, but merely withdraws its use of her own body, which usually causes the fetus to die.