Summary Of Defense Of Abortion By Judith Jarvis Thomson

Elizabeth’s strong pro-choice values along with her parallel stance in Judith Jarvis Thomson’s “Defense of Abortion” are core factors in her belief that abortion can be both morally permissible and impermissible given the circumstances in specific situations. In Elizabeth’s attempt to persuade her husband Tom to agree that terminating the pregnancy is morally permissible, Elizabeth’s best argument would be employ their like-minded beliefs to create justification and highlight her defense. Thomson’s argument that a human being has a right to determine what is does with their own body, even when there is no threat to life, is a direct reflection of Elizabeth’s defense. In explaining her desire to have abortion, Elizabeth can apply Thomson’s violinist analogy to illustrate and align her and her husband’s differing views of morality.

Just the same as Elizabeth voluntarily engaged in sexual intercourse with her just husband, knowing that it may lead to pregnancy, and took the proper precautions to prevent that result, but became pregnant nonetheless. As Thomson describes in this analogy, a doctor explains to Tom that although he did not give the violinist explicit permission to use his body he must now remain connected to the violinist. The bare minimum required for the violinist’s continued life is being hooked up to Tom, but Tom did not directly give the violinist this right. If Tom would rebel and unplug himself, the violinist would consequently die. Would Tom agree that he has a right to decide what happens to his body even if unplugging himself would end the violinist’s