The Debate Of The Permissibility Of Abortion
analytical Essay
1114 words
The permissibility of abortion has been a crucial topic for debates for many years. People have yet to agree upon a stance on whether abortion is morally just. This country is divided into two groups, believers in a woman’s choice to have an abortion and those who stand for the fetus’s right to live. More commonly these stances are labeled as pro-choice and pro-life. The traditional argument for each side is based upon whether a fetus has a right to life. Complications occur because the qualifications of what gives something a right to life is not agreed upon. The pro-choice argument asserts that only people, not fetuses, have a right to life. The pro-life argument claims that fetuses are human beings and therefore they have a right to life. Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, rejects this traditional reasoning because the right of the mother is not brought into consideration. Thomson prepares two theses to explain her reasoning for being pro-choice; “A right to life does not entail the right to use your body to stay alive” and “In the majority of cases it is not morally required that you carry a fetus to term.” Thompson’s theses are strengthened by both hypothetical and real life examples. She begins by granting that fetuses become people from the moment of conception and therefore have rights. Thompson employs this strategy to disparage the traditional argument so that we can cultivate a deeper analysis on the permissibility of abortion. The first analogy Thomson applies is one where you are drugged; a famous violinist is attached to you and he must use your kidneys for nine months in order to live. This situation cultivates the question of whether or not you are allowed to unplug from the violinist. If a person were to acce... ... middle of paper ... ... Although, the media and the government often try to convince women otherwise, the only person who has a right to your body is yourself, not a baby nor a man. Pro-life advocates use guilt to convince women that a fetus, which is nothing more than a lump of cells, takes precedent and has a greater right to your body than you do. Thompson’s many examples throughout her paper provide strong evidence towards proving her stance and have convinced me to have an elevated understanding of a woman’s right to her body. Thompson uses analogies to provide evidence that a fetus does not have a right to a women’s body. Just as one would not require a women to let a famous violinist use her body to live, one should expect the same treatment for a fetus. Having a baby is a huge sacrifice for a women and it should not be a moral requirement to have to take on such a responsibility.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that people have yet to agree upon a stance on whether abortion is morally just. judith jarvis thomson rejects this traditional reasoning because the right of the mother is not taken into consideration.
- Analyzes how thompson's theses are strengthened by hypothetical and real-life examples. she disparages the traditional argument to cultivate a deeper analysis on the permissibility of abortion.
- Analyzes thompson's argument that it is not selfish to not pursue an action that leads to an enormous sacrifice. there is a significant difference between moral excellence and moral decency.
- Opines that thompson's argument has some weaknesses, such as she grants the idea that a fetus is person, and doesn't discuss the possibility of the mother opting to an abortion.
Related
- analytical
- Essay On A Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thompsonanalytical essayIn her essay, “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Jarvis Thompson outlines the most common arguments that people defend, and explains her views regarding each of these. She shares numerous examples and situations that she believes will support her views. One of her most prominent arguments is that of whether or not a fetus has moral standing as a “person.” She highlights the so called “battle” between an innocent life, the fetus, and the bodily rights of the mother. Within this argument, Judith outlines for us several situations which can provide people with a different outlook regarding abortion. Throughout Judith’s essay, she does not truly give a clear stance, but rather allows her readers to choose for themselves.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thompson covers different views for whether or not abortion is permissible. the first view is that the fetus would always have the right to life over the mother.
- Analyzes judith's argument that abortion is morally just in the case of rape, while jarvis believes that women shouldn't be forced to do what they "ought".
- Analyzes how thompson's views on abortion depend on the situation and the fetus being a person right from contraception. thompson believes that abortion is only permissible in certain circumstances.
- Opines that a woman should have the right to an abortion without the worry that it is immoral.
- Analyzes judith jarvis thompson's essay, "a defense of abortion," which outlines the most common arguments that people defend.
- Analyzes thompson's argument that a woman must take full responsibility of her actions and for an abortion, so there should be no intervention.
1398 wordsRead More - Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thompson's A Defense Against Abortionanalytical essayMany are inclined to believe that the fetus has become a human being even right before birth and being brought into the world. A controversial topic around that surrounds the world, is the act of abortion permissible? Philosophers have seen this idea and tried to understand when in face is abortion permissible. Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thompson, in her piece, “A Defense Against Abortion” explores the premise is abortion permissible in all cases. Throughout Thompson’s piece she draws multiple analogies to make her argument be seen through a different perspective. Thompson makes the claim that abortion is permissible even when in fact when a woman intentionally engages in sex and knowing what she is doing can have a high risk of pregnancy.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how judith jarvis thompson's piece, "a defense against abortion," explores the premise that abortion is permissible in all cases.
- Analyzes judith thompson's claim that abortion is permissible when knowing there is a high risk of pregnancy.
- Analyzes how thompson sees the argument differently in comparison to abortion. she believes that the woman's body is the house and allows for a man to come in and that leads to sexual activities.
- Argues that thompson's argument that abortion is permissible when knowing that there are high risks of getting pregnant is false.
- Analyzes thompson's argument that it is permissible to abort when the woman intentionally knows what is happening.
- Opines that thompson's claim that abortion is permissible when a burglar comes into the house will always be controversial.
1470 wordsRead More - Analysis of Thompson's Article, A Defense of Abortionanalytical essayIn Judith Jarvis Thompson’s article “A Defense of Abortion” she explores the different arguments against abortion presented by Pro –Life activists, and then attempts to refute these notions using different analogies or made up “for instances” to help argue her point that women do have the right to get an abortion. She explains why abortion is morally permissible using different circumstances of becoming pregnant, such as rape or unplanned pregnancy.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thomson disagrees with the pro –life argument, calling it a slippery-slope argument. thompson introduces her "violinist analogy."
- Analyzes how thompson uses the analogy to reject the view that the extreme pro – lifers hold that women don't have the right to an abortion.
- Analyzes how judith jarvis thompson compares a woman having sex with the knowledge she can become pregnant — to the burglar breaking into the house.
- Opines that thompson's article focuses too much on why the pro-life ideas are wrong, instead of why pro – choice is right.
- Analyzes how judith jarvis thompson's article "a defense of abortion" explains why abortion is morally permissible using different circumstances of becoming pregnant, such as rape or unplanned pregnancy.
- Analyzes how thompson compares a pregnant woman's body to 'a house', stating that the mother and the unborn child are not like two tenants in the house, and that abortion is not unjust.
- Analyzes how thompson uses analogies to illustrate the strength of her points and to weaken the arguments of pro – lifers.
1773 wordsRead More - Summary Of A Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomsonanalytical essayThomson starts off her paper by explaining the general premises that a fetus is a person at conception and all persons have the right to life. One of the main premises that Thomson focuses on is the idea that a fetus’ right to life is greater than the mother’s use of her body. Although she believes these premises are arguable, she allows the premises to further her explanation of why abortion could be
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how judith jarvis thomson's paper, "a defense of abortion", argues that even though the fetus has a right to life, there are morally permissible reasons to have an abortion.
- Analyzes how thomson focuses on the premises that a fetus' right to life is greater than the mother's use of her body.
- Analyzes how thomson argues that abortion is permissible because it is solely to save the mother's life.
- Opines that it is not right for a third party to intervene in the mother's decision. a mother has ity over her own body so she gets to do what she wants with her body.
- Analyzes how thomson questions whether the fetus has the right to use the mother’s body for survival. thomson understands that depriving someone of something they need to survive is not right either.
- Explains that thomson thinks that when a woman voluntarily has intercourse and becomes pregnant, an abortion is not unjustly killing the fetus.
- Analyzes thomson's argument that it would be impolite to decline the violinist one hour of your life, but she doesn't believe it unjust. the good samaritan says that people should do what they can for a person who is in danger.
- Argues that unplugging the violinist and having an abortion are two separate situations. an abortion is an immediate death of the fetus.
- Explains that the violinist is dying because of his own circumstances of having kidney failure. the fetus is not in danger of dying when it is conceived.
- Argues that the fetus is related to the mother and the violinist is in no way related. thomson makes it out to sound like a pregnant woman is not allowed or capable of doing anything during the nine months of pregnancy.
1559 wordsRead More - A Critique of Judith Thomson’s A Defense of Abortionanalytical essayIn A Defense of Abortion (Cahn and Markie), Judith Thomson presents an argument that abortion can be morally permissible even if the fetus is considered to be a person. Her primary reason for presenting an argument of this nature is that the abortion argument at the time had effectively come to a standstill. The typical anti-abortion argument was based on the idea that a fetus is a person and since killing a person is wrong, abortion is wrong. The pro-abortion adopts the opposite view: namely, that a fetus is not a person and is thus not entitled to the rights of people and so killing it couldn’t possibly be wrong.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes judith thomson's argument that abortion can be morally permissible even if the fetus is considered to be a person.
- Analyzes how thomson's argument is presented in three components. the first section deals with the now famous violinist thought experiment.
- Analyzes how thomson extends this argument to unwanted pregnancies where reasonable precautions have been taken. the thought experiment suggests that children occur as people-seeds that root in furniture and upholstery.
- Analyzes how thomson's third section consists of an analysis of duty versus requirement. she concludes the article by saying that she is not attempting to delineate the circumstances in which a pregnancy might be morally permissible.
- Analyzes thomson's argument on abortion is fundamentally deontological. she presents convincing cases in instances where the pregnancy is due to violence – through rape or abuse.
- Argues that thomson's argument is not incorrect, but suffers from the fatal flaw of being too narrow in scope.
- Argues that the right to life of the fetus is placed at the lowest level with the mother's rights to bodily integrity directly above.
- Argues that the anti-abortion argument is that once a woman is pregnant, the right to life of the fetus overrules the rights to bodily integrity.
- Argues that abortion due to prenatal screening is morally permissible, but whether the killing is justifiable is a different question.
- Argues that killing a fetus with tay sachs disease is justifiable, but this view suffers from two major problems.
- Argues that the right to life of a fetus can be incorporated into the rights-based framework developed earlier.
- Explains that using the definitions for quality of life of a child developed by the legal system helps avoid the slippery slope created by previous arguments.
- Explains that the idea mirrors the legal framework for abortion that has developed in the united states since roe v. wade in 1973.
1883 wordsRead More - The Ethics Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomsonanalytical essayThe ethics of abortion is a topic that establishes arguments that attempt to argue if abortion is morally justified or not. Philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson wrote a pro- choice piece called “A Defense of Abortion.” In this paper, she presents various arguments that attempt to defend abortion by relating it to the woman carrying the fetus and her right in controlling her body. On the other side of the spectrum, philosopher Don Marquis wrote a pro- life paper called “Why Abortion Is Immoral.” Ultimately, Marquis argues that abortion is immoral with rare exceptions because it is resulting in the deprivation of the fetus’s valuable future. He supports his paper by creating the future-like-ours argument that compares the future of a fetus to the
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the ethics of abortion establishes arguments that attempt to argue if abortion is morally justified or not.
- Analyzes thomson's pro-choice argument in "a defense on abortion," which is mainly supported by analogies like the violinist analogy, burglar analog, and the people seeds analog.
- Analyzes how thomson shows that the violinist's right to life is being respected because of the use of her body.
- Analyzes how thomson's people seeds analogy relates to the idea of how consensual intercourse doesn't equal the fetus' use of the body.
- Analyzes how marquis argues that abortion is immoral because of the fact that the fetus' valuable future is deprived.
- Analyzes how marquis argues that killing a fetus is just as wrong as killing an adult, if not, even more wrong.
1549 wordsRead More - Response to Judith Jarvis Thomson's A Defense for Abortionanalytical essayJudith Jarvis Thomson, in "A Defense of Abortion", argues that even if we grant that fetuses have a fundamental right to life, in many cases the rights of the mother override the rights of a fetus. For the sake of argument, Thomson grants the initial contention that the fetus has a right to life at the moment of conception. However, Thomson explains, it is not self-evident that the fetus's right to life will always outweigh the mother's right to determine what goes on in her body. Thomson also contends that just because a woman voluntarily had intercourse, it does not follow that the fetus acquires special rights against the mother. Therefore, abortion is permissible even if the mother knows the risks of having sex. She makes her points with the following illustration. Imagine that you wake up one morning and find that you have been kidnapped, taken to a hospital, and a famous violist has been attached to your circulatory system. You are told that the violinist was ill and you were selected to be the host, in which the violinist will recover in nine months, but will die if disconnected from you before then. Clearly, Thomson argues, you are not morally required to continue being the host. In her essay she answers the question: what is the standard one has to have in order to be granted a right to life? She reflects on two prospects whether the right to life is being given the bare minimum to sustain life or ir the right to life is merely the right not to be killed. Thomson states that if the violinist has more of a right to life then you do, then someone should make you stay hooked up to the violinist with no exceptions. If not, then you should be free to go at a...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how judith jarvis thomson argues that abortion is permissible even if the mother knows the risks of having sex.
- Analyzes how thomson argues that a person has no right to be given the bare minimum that is needed for continued life.
- Analyzes thomson's argument that a woman has no more moral obligation to her unborn child than she has to strangers.
- Opines that one may unplug oneself from the violinist by shooting him in the head, cutting him into pieces, poisoning him, but he dies from his sickness.
- Analyzes how thomson contradicts herself at the end of the essay by saying that she does not agree with killing the unborn child.
- Argues that thomson's volunteerism is fatal to family morality, which has as one of its central beliefs that an individual has special and filial obligations to his offspring and family.
- Argues that the volunteerist thesis is contrary to what people think. the idea that to be committed to an individual is fatal to family morality.
- Argues that pregnancy and childbirth entail certain emotional, physical, and financial sacrifices on the part of the pregnant woman, but these are also endemic of parenthood in general.
- Explains that the sperm donor is not morally responsible for the child he inseminates into a woman, but is forced by an unjust court to pay child support.
- Analyzes how thomson misguidedly infers that all moral obligations to a child are voluntary. the father's responsibility for his offspring stems from the fact that he engaged in sexual intercourse that could result in the creation of another human being.
- Argues that even if the violinist doesn't have a right to his life, it's not morally permissible.
- Analyzes how thomson argues that the right to life includes not being killed by anyone unjustly.
- Argues that the unborn has a prima facie right to her mother's body. the womb is the natural environment for the violinist, whereas being artificially hooked up to strangers is not.
- Argues that thomson's violinist illustration undermines the deep natural bond between mother and child by making it seem no different from that between two strangers artificially hooked up to each other.
- Analyzes how thomson ignores the fact that abortion is killing and not merely the withholding of treatment. levin argues that there is an essential difference between abortion and the unplugging of the violinist
- Argues that thomson's argument is inconsistent with well-established family law, which presupposes parental responsibility.
- Argues that thomson's use of pregnancy as a nine-month involuntary imprisonment in bed skews the argument.
4806 wordsRead More - Abortion, Public Policy, & Texasanalytical essayOver the duration of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that texas' parties shifted from predominantly democrat to being dominated by republicans, creating a conservative think tank amongst state legislators.
- Argues that abortion in the western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. there is no agreement on when life begins and at which one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
- Argues that the social contract prohibits abortions because a fetus can be the same as minors, the mentally retarded, or the insane.
- Explains that with new laws in texas, self-induced abortion could rise. dave, p. (2014, april 16). judge rules north dakota's abortion ban after 6 weeks unconstitutional.
1028 wordsRead More - Altman And Brison On Abortionanalytical essayIn Thomson’s pro-life argument, the key premise she describes as false is “that the fetus is a human being, a person, from the moment of conception” (47). In the eyes of Thomson, abortion is morally impermissible. She does explain how most agree that the fetus is a human well before birth with evidence supporting on how by the tenth weeks of development, it already has a face, arms, legs, fingers, toes and even internal organs along with brain activity being detectable. Though she states this, the sees the premise as false and this is not the point of her argument. She is not “arguing for the right to secure the death of the unborn child” (66), but for the right of the woman’s choice to control her body. She sways her argument in using real life
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thomson's pro-life argument argues that abortion is morally impermissible, stating that the mother has a greater right to control her body than the fetus.
- Identifies and contrasts the relevant freedoms central to the dispute between altman and brison. pornography is defined as graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures or words.
- Analyzes how altman argues that one's sexual autonomy entails a moral right to porn, even depictions of sexual violence.
- Argues that brison would argue against altman as to there is no moral right to watch (violent and degrading) porn held by producers or consumers.
- Explains kant's criticism of consequentialism by saying that the morality of an action cannot depend on the consequences because they are completely out of our control.
- Explains that kant believes that our morals come from our direct power inside of us. he has his or specific moral requirements derived from a fundamental moral principle called the categorical imperative.
- Describes the four factors identified by elliot that account for the widespread epidemic of psychopathology.
- Explains that different mental disorders occur in different populations, under different conditions, for different reasons. elliot identified four factors that account for the widespread epidemic of psychopathology or mental illness.
- Explains consequentialism as the doctrine that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences.
1295 wordsRead More - The Pros And Cons Of Abortionanalytical essay2). On the other hand, Judeo-Christian tenets limit individualism and promote values which “oppose human tampering with natural process...[and advocate for the] sacredness of human life” (Tamney, Johnson, & Burton, 1992, p. 3). Ultimately, at the heart of this contentious argument is whether a fetus is or is not a person. Proponents of abortion define a fetus as a nonperson and thus argue in favor of a woman’s right to choose, as well as the right to use her own body and she deems fit (Goldberg, 1997). Conversely, opponents define a fetus as a person and argue that the fetus’ rights are inviolable and would supersede the women’s right to do with her body as she pleases. Despite the merits of each argument, one can assert that these contentions are philosophical and limited in their intention to persuade anyone who has not already made a determination. Therefore, in order to make an informed decision and to determine the merits of abortion, it is more advisable to pursue scientific
In this essay, the author
- Argues that abortion is a contentious issue that divides countries and families across the world. proponents and opponents alike vie for their point of view and with contrasting positions.
- Argues that proponents of abortion argue that an anti-abortion stance is merely a matter of religion and has merit only when there is no law concerning abortion.
- Opines that abortions cannot be isolated from other aspects of women's health and the long-term emotional and mental complications are not fully contemplated.
- Argues that banning or restricting abortions could result in serious medical contraindications impacting the very life of the mother.
- Explains that the international association for the study of pain (iaso) asserts that an emotional reaction is required for stimuli to be recognized as pain, based on an erroneous philosophical determination.
- Opines that even if a fetus does not possess the maturity to understand or effectively communicate the emotional concept of pain, it is important to consider the comfort of both patients.
- Concludes that the immorality of abortion can be substantiated medically because there is sufficient evidence to indicate a stress response to pain in the fetus. political issues and philosophical arguments on abortion serve only to cloud the medical analysis of mental disorders.
1027 wordsRead More