Discussion of Various Articles on Abortion, Pro vs. Con
Analysis of Various Articles on Abortion, Pro vs. Con
Abortion has been a vastly debated topic. There are many things to consider and two sides to choose from. Does a woman have the right to abortion? The stage at which a fetus becomes a person would justify when abortion is morally accepted. But where do we draw the line? What factors come into play to determine such a time?
Judith Jarvis Thomson, the author of the article “A Defense of Abortion,” argues that even though a fetus is a person from the moment of conception a woman still has the right to abortion (1.Thomson, CC2005, p 0046). She gives a hypothetical situation in order to help rethink the morality of abortion. She uses this hypothetical situation to conclude that aborting a fetus is not murder and it does not follow that it should be in any way be considered murder. Where to draw the line is also a highly debated topic and she states the most people would draw the line at the moment of conception but this conclusion does not follow. She continues on about how the same thing could be said about an acorn turning into an oak tree and that the two things are nothing alike just as an embryo is not a person (2.Thomson, CC2005, p 0046).
Suppose a normal person was suddenly kidnapped one day and put in a hospital bed where she has been linked to a stranger. She is the only person with right blood type to help. The stranger is a famous violinist who is having kidney failure and needs the kidneys of this innocent woman. If she chooses to save the life of this violinist she must stay in the hospital next to him for nine months. (3.Thomson, CC2005, p 0048) Thomson relates this situation to the case of rape. The innocent woman would be the victim of rape and the violinist is the fetus from the result of rape. This puts the woman in the situation of deciding whether or not she should stay in bed for nine months to save this violinist. Pro-life argues that she should stay in bed and save this man’s life because she can and it would murder is she unplugged herself from him. Thomson...