According to Judith Thomson, most of the opponents of abortion rely on the belief that a fetus is already a human being from the instant conception takes place. The argument for this is valid since the development to become a person is a continuous process that it is difficult to choose at what point to consider the fetus a human or not. The reason for this is that such a choice would have to be arbitrary. In fact, the fetus is comparable to a corn in case of an oak tree. In most cases, the people opposed to abortion focus on the premise that persons life starts from conception and fail to show why abortion should be impermissible. However, some Groups and individuals dispute that abortion is illegal and a deviation of society values that needs upholding (McDonagh, 1996). Since there is a connection between the mother and the unborn child, it would not make sense to only consider the right to life of the fetus and leave out that of the woman and their wishes on the direction they want their lives to take. The author shows this clearly with the case of famous violinist who gets to ones bloodstream in order to save his life without consent at first. It is irrational to argue that since the violinist has a right to life, then the person plugged to him cannot is bound to stay that way for as long as it takes. In the same way, a woman should have a choice on whether to carry on with the pregnancy or not since, it involves a commitment that can be life-long to her.
The pro and anti-abortion activists arguments sometimes prove too hard to refute based on the circumstance at hand. The pro-abortion relies on the side effects that a woman faces in case she does not abort (Munson, 1996). The argument is that, denying a woman right to use abortion deprives her entitlement to the unquestionable control and power of her body(Thomson, 1971). A baby comes with additional responsibility of taking care of the newborn medical, educational, and clothing need arises. A third party should not have an opinion on what the woman should do with what is happening in her body since she has the exclusive right to make a decision on whether to have the fetus grow in her or not. Anti- abortionists fail to appreciate the tragic and unbearable effects that a new birth poses to a woman (Thomson, 1971). Their justifications rely on the hypothesis that murder is unlawful irrespective of the arising consequences of barring it.
Abortion opposition considers a fetus as an individual empowered with full rights of a person from the instant of conception. The argument posed by pro-abortionists which those against reject is that there is the existence of a line that defines when a fetus is to appreciate as normal human being (Warren, 1973). Thompson, however, refutes the premise that a fetus is a person from the time an egg fertilizes. He defines an ovum that has fertilized as a cell clump no different from an acorn existing in an oak tree. The premise put through here is that a fetus is a tissue that should measure human when birth takes place (Thomson, 1971). Philosophers against abortion focus are on the establishment of the fetus as a person without a clear explanation on the issue of abortion impermissibility (Manninen, 2014). For example in rape cases, the opposition does not provide the way forward. In addition, they do not make any exception in incidences where a pregnancy can render a mother bed-ridden until the time of birth.
Thompson notes that the opposition ignores abortion even in extreme cases. Surely, when pregnancy continuation is likely to end mothers life, abortion should permit. She provides a scenario where a woman in her early stages of pregnancy realizes that she has a condition, say cardiac, and possibility of death is most likely, termination has to take place (Thomson, 1971). The argument that performance of abortion amounts to murder is weak since it fails to realize that failure to seize action to save mothers life equals direct killing (Feldt & Jennings, 2002). A woman has the right to defend her life if the infant poses a danger to her life even if termination of the unborn has to take place. The anti-abortion argument on extreme cases when abortion has to take place is prejudiced.
Thompson emphasizes on various factors that are important to raise a child. Some of these are their maturity level, the financial aspect about their income and asset stability, and stability of the father-mother relationship. She explains that considering these factors the government should not bow down to abortion opposition to legislate laws that prohibit the right of a woman to decide or to choose her option of her pregnancy. Thompson reasons that the opposition should recognize the hardships that encompass a successful raise of a child. Upbringing a child does not only rely on the financial stability of the two parties involved but also on the commitment of the parents (Thomson, 1971). For a child to grow successfully, the social environment has to be welcoming and appreciative of the new participant joining their group. An environment that is emotional and socially friendly defines the character of a child.
Logically, equating fetus abortion with murder is unfeasible since scientific accession proves otherwise. A fetus is not a human being since it is not alive (Thomson, 1971). In addition, its existence as a human is non-guaranteed. Thompson urges opposition of abortion to agree with the premise that a child that is not yet born equals the brain of a dead person. A fetus in her mothers womb has no difference with a dead person since no conscious activity and self-awareness on its part satisfy the human existence.
On the evaluation part, of entitlement of a woman to control his or her body on the basis that a child in a womb is not a person is refutable .The view is considerable feeble to defend the prohibition of abortion. Philosophers against it state that finding an individual in a property you own does not accord you the civil liberties to kill him or her regardless of whether you had permitted him or not. They proceed to argue that if such an individual injures himself within the premise or is his expulsion result to death, the owner holds responsibility. Equally, a woman opting for abortion to control her body does so consciously, which makes her act immoral. Thomson argument does not clearly present why an unborn child does not entitle to full rights of a grown-up individual. The first distinct and complete cell of our existence is zygote that occurs when an individual is conceived. Therefore, since it is extremely difficult to draw a line on when human life begins, the first stage of development, when zygote forms, is reasonably stage when an individual life begins.
References
Feldt, & Jennings. (2002). Behind Every Choice is a Story.
Little, M. (1999). Abortion, Intimacy, and the Duty to Gestate,. 295312.
Manninen, B. A. (2014). A KANTIAN DEFENSE OF ABORTION RIGHTS. 7092 .
McDonagh, E. (1996). Breaking the Abortion Deadlock: From Choice to Consent.
Munson, R. (1996). Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Medical Ethics. pp 69-80.
Thomson, J. J. (1971). A Defense of Abortion.
Warren, M. A. (1973). On the Moral and Legal Status of. Pp 1-9.
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