Rethinking Unplugging
- PMID: 31586181
- DOI: 10.1093/jmp/jhz026
Rethinking Unplugging
Abstract
Opponents of abortion have traditionally responded to Judith Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" by denying that her example of the unconscious violinist is analogous to a pregnancy that results from rape. In this article, I argue that this strategy does not work. Although there are differences between Thomson's violinist and pregnancies that result from rape, the differences are not morally relevant. The appropriate strategy for the opponent of abortion, I argue, is to simply bite the bullet: the opponent of abortion should simply reply that Thomson's innocent victim is not free to unplug himself from the violinist.
Keywords: Thomson; abortion; violinist.
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Similar articles
-
Unconscious violinists and the use of analogies in moral argument.J Med Ethics. 2000 Dec;26(6):466-8. doi: 10.1136/jme.26.6.466. J Med Ethics. 2000. PMID: 11129849 Free PMC article.
-
Abortions and distortions: an analysis of morally irrelevant factors in Thomson's violinist thought experiment.Soc Theory Pract. 2001 Jan;27(1):129-48. Soc Theory Pract. 2001. PMID: 12564447 No abstract available.
-
The parenthood argument.Bioethics. 2018 Jan;32(1):10-15. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12409. Epub 2017 Nov 24. Bioethics. 2018. PMID: 29171657
-
A dualist analysis of abortion: personhood and the concept of self qua experiential subject.J Med Ethics. 2005 Jan;31(1):48-55. doi: 10.1136/jme.2002.000828. J Med Ethics. 2005. PMID: 15634753 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Is there a 'new ethics of abortion'?J Med Ethics. 2001 Oct;27 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):ii5-9. doi: 10.1136/jme.27.suppl_2.ii5. J Med Ethics. 2001. PMID: 11574651 Free PMC article. Review.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical