A Defense Of Abortion And Hursthouses Virtue Theory And Abortions

Great Essays
Bailey Washington
Mr. Reynolds
Philosophy
MWF 8:30
1 December 2016
Thomson vs. Hursthouse In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting Thomsons A Defense of Abortion and Hursthouses Virtue Theory and Abortions. Also in my paper I will be sharing my opinion on abortion and which view I agree with. The two share similar concerns of abortion and that is if the status of the fetus is a human being or a clump of cells and also the right of the woman. Abortion is the deliberate termination of pregnancy most often performed during the first twenty eight weeks of pregnancy. There is a plethora of controversy about whether or not women should be allowed to get an abortion or not. Thomson states that killing an innocent person is always and
…show more content…
It is her body and she has the right to do whatever she wants with her body, however abusing abortion is not acceptable. Abortion is not a form of contraception therefore it should only be used for specific purposes like Hursthouse stated. There are exceptions for getting an abortion, but not everyone sees it that way. No one can say what anyone should do in the case of getting an abortion or not unless you are the one in that position. The exceptions include rape, health, and overall health of the fetus. In the piece written by Thomson she spoke about the mom having a cardiac condition. This is an example as to why a woman would want to get an abortion for her health and also ensuring that when she does choose to have a child she will be there for her baby and love he or she unconditionally. An example of over using abortions is just simple not using contraceptives and aborting the baby because you chose not to use protection. This is a reason that some may feel the need to get rid of abortions altogether but in the end there will always be exceptions to …show more content…
Thomson and Hursthouse both have come to the conclusion that abortion is impermissible but there are acceptable situations in which abortion should be permitted. In my opinion I agree with both Thomson and Hursthouse but in the end the conclusion of Hursthouse is the view I could see making both sides of abortion acceptable. When a woman and man conceive a baby knowingly, getting an abortion will only occur in the event of a health risk or the chances of the baby living after birth will be so minimum. By choosing abortion before letting the child get to full term is less painful than carrying the baby to full term and giving themselves false hope. It is understandable that some may want to fight for that chance but there is the option of abortion. Thomson also says that allowing someone to use your body is different from them having the right to. When the violinist was attached to her she never gave him the right to use her body but say may see it as a moral obligation to allow him to use her body. For anyone to see what that truly feels like they would need to be put in that situation but overall it would be an internal conflict between morally doing what is right and what you would want for yourself. It would either be you choosing the “right” thing to do or everyone being mad at you for choosing what is best for you and your baby, or in that case what is right for the violinist. In the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Abortion is an emotive and controversial topic that raises political, ethical and social debates. According to Dictionary.com, “abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, usually before the embryo or fetus is capable of independent life; most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.” In this paper, I’ll explain the main legal and ethical issues surrounding abortions. Also, I will provide a case that has to deal with abortion. Ethical questions mainly stem from religious, social and professional dimensions.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thomson’s and Marquis’ Views on Abortion The subject of abortion is a highly controversial topic, with each side firmly believing that the opposing view is prima facie immoral. Much discussion regarding abortion is focused on whether or not a fetus can be categorized as a person. Many assume that if a fetus is labeled as a person, then it would be wrong to kill it; however, if a fetus has not reached personhood, then it should be fine to end its life. Judith Thomson decides to circumvent this discussion, realizing that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine at which point a fetus becomes a person with a right to life.…

    • 1887 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the case of the violinist she neglects to address the age difference between a fetus and the violinist, fails to make the fetus equal with that which represents it in story, and does not take into account the different emotional connections that take place with a stranger versus a fetus. Thomson’s case about Henry ford did not accurately represent the choices that the mother makes in an abortion oversimplifying, and adding details that lead the reader to be less sympathetic towards one side. Although she did not cover all bases on those tow arguments the chocolate box argument was a great example to support her idea that the right to life is not just about being killed, but contrarily in the right to not be killed in an unjust…

    • 1554 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Judith Thomson, in “A Defense of Abortion”, argues her thoughts towards abortion, by using forms of analogies and acknowledges the right to life a fetus has, but also argues that the unborn baby’s right to life does not over ride the pregnant women’s right to make choices and have control over her body. There will be analogy examples in which there are different stated scenarios of a pregnant woman where you will find yourself comparing the scene to an analogy. In order, to justify whether an abortion can be performed or not under certain exceptions varying on the conditions. Thompson’s arguments about abortion deal with the status of being a person of the fetus and, in addition, those who oppose towards abortion spend most of their time trying…

    • 1865 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These cases are supposed to be analogous to cases of rape, threat to life, or when a woman has taken reasonable precautions not to get pregnant. Thomson does not, however she concludes that abortion is justified in any and every case. There is a moral requirement to be a Minimally Decent Samaritan as Thomson puts it, and this makes a late abortion wrong if it is done just for the sake of convenience. To use her example, it would be wrong for a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy to get an abortion just to avoid the nuisance of postponing a trip…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the essay “Why Abortion is Immoral,” philosopher Don Marquis uses utilitarian principles to argue that “abortion is, except in rare cases, seriously immoral… [and] in the same category as killing an innocent human being” (223). However, he deliberately avoids relating his thesis to abortion in the specific contexts of rape, maternal death, and severe postpartum health complications. Thus, in my analysis of his claim, I plan on adopting Marquis’ utilitarian perspective to evaluate the permissibility of abortion in regard to these delicate scenarios. I will begin my paper by giving a brief summary of “Why Abortion is Immoral.”…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Therefore, an abortion in the seventh month of the pregnancy without any complications, is more indecent then an abortion in the third month with complications. Thompson concludes by stating that although mothers have the right to abort their fetuses that does dot grant them the right to kill them if the fetus survives the abortion and that abortion is not strictly either morally permissible or morally impermissible but depends on the…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Defense of Abortion. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1(1), 47-66. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/2265091 Warren, M. (1973). ON THE MORAL AND LEGAL STATUS OF ABORTION. The Monist, 57(1), 43-61.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This analogy is challenging the more extreme view held by those in opposition to abortion. This view finds abortion “impermissible even to save the mother’s life.” Imagine a woman has become pregnant and in the same day learns of a newly developed heart disease that will kill her if she carries her baby to term. The baby has a right to life, but so does the woman. Thomson brings up the argument most familiar.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Philosophy is the application of ethical approaches to issues, controversies, theories, and ideas. It is in one’s nature to seek answers to questions which are asked. It is also in one’s nature to question and decide if an idea or ideal is right or wrong, but in the case of ethics; permissible or impermissible. In this text, we are going to use these terms as acceptable or permitted and vice-versa. In this essay, we will be analyzing the article, “A Defense of Abortion” by philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thompson.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Brilliant Essays

    Creating such a framework in 1971 may have been somewhat ahead of its time, but might have aided the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. A moral framework of this nature would have been instrumental in developing the associated legal framework. As it stands, the legal status of abortion in the United States suffers from grave constitutional concerns and periodic attacks. Thomson’s argument is not incorrect, but suffers from the fatal flaw of being too narrow in scope. If she had considered rights other than the fetus’ right to life and the mother’s right to her bodily integrity, she would not have needed to resort to a rather non-intuitive argument that one’s right to life is simply the right not to be killed unjustly.…

    • 1880 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Brilliant Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Forty-two million abortions are performed worldwide each year. That's more than the entire population of Canada, which would cost unprepared families over five hundred billion dollars in just one year. To kill an unborn with horrible procedures is not only wrong for the doctors, but morally wrong too. As a society we lean towards economic explanations for behaviour, and in some ways this makes sense.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In today’s societies around the world, there is currently two factions of the highly controversial topic of abortion and whether it should be allowed or outlawed. These two factions on opposite sides are pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-choice supporters in essence believes a woman has the right to an abortion if she decides to do so. On the other hand, pro-life supporters believe the fetus is its own human being and has the right to live, thus an abortion cannot be performed on the woman. Judith Jarvis Thomson, a philosophy professor supports the right to an abortion in her paper, “A defense of Abortion” (186).…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    John Westwig David Denby Intro to Ethics 15 December 2017 The Fundamental Problem of a Right to Life Abortion remains one of the flagship intractable problems in modern ethical theory. Numerous philosophers have attempted to apply existing theories to the moral question of abortion, and have used their results to invent and refine new theories. Mary Warren and Don Marquis, ethical philosophers and writers, embody the views of the two conflicting approaches. Warren takes a highly permissive stance on abortion, arguing that abortion should be permitted at any point during pregnancy, while Marquis claims that abortion, in general, is wrong, barring exceptional circumstances.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite the horrifying reality linked to abortion, the debate about allowing abortion in a moral society has never ceased. There are various ethical theories that would support abortion based on some arguments. The theory argues that the moral rightness is based on the total good the consequences of a certain activity (Sinnott-Armstrong, 1). According to the consequentialist ethical theory, a consequentialist would first enquire on the consequences allowing the abortion and not allowing abortion. The people who support this theory would want to know the action that would produce the greatest goodness for either the child or the mother.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays