Critical Thinking Lecture 13a Thomson’s A Defense of Abortion

1. Critical ThinkingLecture 13aThomson’s A Defense of Abortion By David Kelsey

2. The most common argument for the impermissibility of abortion • The main argument strategy for the impermissibility of abortion: • 1-A fetus is a person • 2-Every person has a right to life • 3-A fetus has a right to life (from 1 & 2) • 4-A woman has a right to decide what happens in and to her body • 5-The fetus’ right to life trumps the mother’s right to decide what happens in and to her body. • 6-Abortion is impermissible. • Where would you challenge this argument?

3. Thomson rejects premise 5 • In response to the argument from the previous slide: • Most folks try to argue that premise 1 is false. • They try to argue that ______________________. • Thomson tries a different tact: • Which premise does she go after? • Thomson argues that the scope of the right to life of the fetus doesn’t include the right to the use of the expectant mother’s body • Thus, the mother’s right to control what happens in & to her body cannot be trumped by ____________________. • What kind of argument does Thomson make?

4. The Violinist Analogy • The Violinist analogy is supposed to be analogous to a case in which a woman becomes pregnant as a result of rape. • The terms of the analogy: • The violinist is analogous to ___________. • The kidnap victim is analogous to ___________. • Unplugging from the violinist is analogous to ______________. • Question: Would you unplug from the Violinist? • If so you must also accept what?

5. The Tiny House • This case is analogous to one in which pregnancy will result in the death of the mother. • Terms of the analogy: • The rapidly growing child is analogous to __________. • The mother trapped in the house is analogous to _____________. • Killing the rapidly growing child is analogous to ___________. • If your intuition is that the mother has the right to defend her life against the rapidly growing child, you must admit what?

6. People Seeds • The People seeds case is supposed to be analogous to a case in which a pregnancy resulted although some form of protection was used. • Terms of the analogy: • The people seeds are analogous to _________. • The house is supposed to be analogous to ___________. • The fine mesh screen is analogous to _____________. • Thomson thinks the person plant that finds it’s way through the screen and develops doesn’t have a right to the use of your house. • So according to Thomson, a fetus that results from the use of protection has no right to the use of what?

7. Minimally decent Samaritans • For Thomson, it’s not that she thinks that any old reason for having an abortion will justify getting the abortion. • If it is a mere inconvenience for the woman to get the abortion, then it would be indecent of her to do so. • Question: what if pregnancy lasted only an hour? • So Thomson thinks the mother must be at least a __________________. • The case of Kitty Genovese!

8. Objections to Thomson:The Weirdness objection • Thomson’s Violinist case and the others are too dissimilar to the different cases of abortion because Thomson’s cases are all too weird. • The reply: • Questionable relevance

9. The Tacit Consent Objection • What does Thomson say about consensual sex? • What if the expecting parents wanted to have a child all along and then something came up? What if they changed their minds? • Thomson’s response: • If it isn’t too much of an inconvenience on the mother to have the child then she ought to. • If it is too much of a burden on the mother then abortion is permissible because, after all, consent can be withdrawn.

10. The Responsibility objection • You have a responsibility to care for the fetus in all cases except rape whereas in Thomson’s analogies, for example the people seeds analogy, you have no such responsibility. • Reply: But does this added responsibility widen the scope of the fetus’ right to life?

11. The Killing vs. Letting Die objection • Killing and letting die: • The Violinist case is a case of letting the violinist die. • Abortion is killing. • Question: Is killing worse than letting die? • Response: • The killing and letting die distinction does no work because Thomson is worried only about what?

12. The Stranger vs. OffspringObjection • The objection: • The violinist is a stranger • The mother child relationship is special though. • It is this relationship which obligates the mother to bring the child to term. • Response: • What’s the relevance of this objection?