Abortion
Abortion:
My topic would be based on an imaginary situation. The situation I'll present is of a teenager who became pregnant not because of her own will but for her boyfriend's will when he had forcible sex with her. Judith Thompson and Mary Warren would consider it morally permissible to undergo an abortion in such a circumstance. John Noonan would not consider it morally impermissible depending on the circumstances.
Judith Thompson would answer that it would indeed be morally permissible for the teenager to have and abortion. Thompson would grant, for the sake of argument, that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. Thompson understands that the fetus has important rights to life; however, her understanding doesn't necessarily lead to the conclusion that the right to life of the fetus is greater than the rights of the mother. The mother has control over her own body.
In the text book, Thompson uses an example to make her point clear. Thompson talks about a violinist and the thought that you are connected to him. In the night people who think he's important chose you because of your rare blood type to save his life by sharing your body with him. She goes through different needs and conditions that he could place on your body and uses them to show why he doesn't have a "right" to your body, though you may have some sort of obligation to him. She believes that a woman's right to control her own body supercedes any claim that another may have on it, whatever that claim, so that they could have no absolute "right" to it.
Thompson does concede however that a woman generally has a degree of responsibility for her children. The degree of responsibility influences the morality of how they choose to exercise control over their bodies. Two distinct examples Thompson uses are: If the famous violinist needed to remain connected to your body until he finally caused your death, it would be perfectly moral to disconnect him. If...
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