Is Abortion Wrong?

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Is Abortion Wrong?
Is Abortion Wrong?
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Baruch Brody Thomson on Abortion
Brodys Project

• Brody argues that, given Thomsons presumption
  that the squidge has a full right to life, her
  argument that abortion may be justified fails.

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Recall Thomsons Argument

• Abortion is not morally impermissible at least in
  (some?) cases where the squidge threatens the
  mothers life.

• Abortion is not morally impermissible at least in
  (some?) cases where the pregnancy is the result
  of rape.

• Famous violinist thought experiment

• Henry Fonda thought experiment

• Abortion is not morally impermissible at least in
  (some?) cases where the mother went to reasonable
  lengths to prevent the pregnancy.

• People seeds thought experiment

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Brody Rephrases the Extreme View Argument
(See Slide 6 from last class.)
Suppose a woman has become pregnant, but learns
she has a heart condition such that she will die
if she carries the squidge to term.

1. From the moment of conception, a squidge is a
   human being with the same rights to life as any
   other human being.
2. It is always wrong to take (directly) the life of
   an innocent human being.
3. Therefore, it is always wrong to have an abortion.

• Thomson challenges (2), and argues that a woman
  has the right to secure an abortion even if (1)
  is true.

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Arguments from Self-Defense
Brody argues that there are much easier ways to
defeat premise (2)
It is always wrong to take (directly) the life of
an innocent human being.

• Y is about to shoot X.
• X can only save his life by takingYs life.
• We certainly want to say that X has the right to
  take Ys life,even if Y is a perfectlyinnocent
  child.
• So premise (2) is false.

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Arguments from Self-Defense
In a normal case of self-defense, three factors
seem to be involved

1. The continued existence of Y poses a threat to
   the life of X, a threat that can only be met by
   taking Ys life.
2. Y is unjustly attempting to take Xs life.
3. Y is responsible for his attempt to take Xs life
   and is therefore guilty of attempting to take Xs
   life.

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Arguments from Self-Defense
Indeed, it seems that all three factors must be
involved if X isjustified in taking Ys life in
self-defense

• Ys guilt is what makes Xs life take precedence
  over Ys.
• If (a) is not satisfied, then Ys living is no
  threat to X, but if (b) and (c) are not
  satisfied, then there is no relevant guilt on Ys
  part that makes Xs life take precedence over his.

But, it seems, if (a) and (b), but not (c), are
satisfied, X has the right to take Ys life in
self-defense.

• So what is the justification for taking a life in
  self-defense? What conditions are required for an
  act of self-defense to be justified?

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Arguments from Self-Defense
If Z threatens to kill X unless X kills Y, then
Ys continued existence poses a threat to Xs
life.

• Nevertheless, if X kills Y, we want to say that
  he did so unjustly.
• So merelysatisfying condition(a) is not enough
  to justify a killing.

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Arguments from Self-Defense
Since the squidge is not attempting to take the
mothers life

• The squidge does not satisfy condition (b).
• The squidge does not satisfy condition (c).
• So it seems problematic that abortions can
  bejustified on grounds of self-defense.

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Lifeboat Argument
As Thomson points out, in abortion cases, we are
dealing with only two individuals (presumably
each with an equal right to life). Both are
innocent, but one threatens the life of the
other. We feel that the one threatened can justly
kill the other.

• Consider this scenario X and Y are adrift in a
  lifeboat.
• Y has a disease that he will survive,but which
  will kill X if he contractsit.
• The only way X can avoid thisis by pushing Y
  overboard, thuskilling him.
• Surely X has no right to do this.
• So surely there must be someother grounds to
  justifyabortion.

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Different Duties, Different Outcome
In the lifeboat case, both X and Y have an equal
right to use the lifeboat. But in an abortion
case, the womans body is hers, and not the
squidges, and she has the primary right to use
it.

• I have no duty to X to save Xs life by giving
  him the use of my body, and X has no right (even
  to save his life) to my body.
• The duty to save Xs life (if such a duty exists)
  is presumably weaker than the duty not to take
  Xs life.
• So I might be relieved of my duty to save Xs
  life by the fact that fulfilling it means
  abandoning my primary right to my body.
• But I am not relieved of my duty not to take Xs
  life by the same fact.
• Like the self-defense cases, something more is
  required here.

vs.
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Different Duties, Different Outcome
The womans primary rights to her body are not
relevant to abortion cases

• In a case of abortion, one chooses between saving
  the woman by taking the life of the squidge, and
  not taking the life of the squidge, thereby
  saving the woman.
• As such, if it is true that from the moment of
  conception the squidge is a human being and has
  the same right to life as any other human being,
  then it is wrong to perform an abortion even to
  save the life of the woman.

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Is it Ever Right to Secure an Abortion?
There is at least one case in which, even if it
is true that the squidge has a full right to
life, the woman has the right to secure an
abortion
It is permissible for Y to take Xs life in order
to save hisown life if

• X is going to die anyway in a relatively
  shorttime and
• Taking Xs life is the only way to save Ys
  lifeand either

1. Taking Ys life will not save Xs life or
2. There is a way to save Xs life, but it has
   beendetermined by a fair random method that
   Yslife should be saved rather than Xs.

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Is it Ever Right to Secure an Abortion?
In such a case, there is everything to gain by
Ys taking Xs life and nothing to lose

• Both Y and X will die soon if nothing is done, so
  X loses nothing by Y killing him and
• Either Xs life cannot be saved, or Y won over X
  ina fair random choice.

This is not a principle of self-defense X is in
no way attempting to take Ys life, and is doing
no action that leads to Ys death.
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Is it Ever Right to Secure an Abortion?
An abortion would be justified if

• Were the abortion not performed, both the woman
  and the squidge would soon die and
• We either cannot save the squidge, or have
  determinedby a fair random procedure that it is
  the womanthat should be saved.

This argument makes no appeal to any special fact
about the squidge, the woman, or their
relationship. It depends solely upon a general
principle about the taking of some human lives to
save other.