What Is Judith Thomson Argument For The Defense Of Abortion

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In this paper I will 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 is a human from the moment of conception since she thinks the fetus being a person does not conclude that abortion is wrong.
Additionally, Thomson states that a person must be able to defend themselves. Defending themselves means that a person should not have to limit themselves or their body for others. Human beings have the right to claim their own body, and a fetus does not have the right to force the mother to keep it alive because of that. Thomson thinks that everyone has a right to life, but everyone does not have the right to life by using someone else’s body. For example, Thomson gives a thought experiment about a person being kidnapped and laid in bed to be connected with a world famous violinist because he is deathly sick and needs their blood type in order to stay alive. Thomson thinks it is okay if the person unplugs themselves because the violinist does have a right to life, but does not have the right to use someone …show more content…
Then, a fetus does not automatically get the right to be able to rely on their mother for a whole pregnancy. Since both the mother and the fetus are innocent in the situation of a pregnancy, a fetus’s right to life is not stronger than the mother’s right to have control over her body. Therefore, Thomson concludes that abortion is

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