1. Abortion: Conflicting Rights
Mary-Anne Warren
Judith Jarvis Thompson

2. Judith Jarvis Thompson’s Violist Analogy
Imagine you have been kidnapped & wake up in a hospital bed
A famous musician is in the bed next to you. He suffers from a mysterious kidney problem and his circulatory system has been plugged into yours
You are currently keeping him alive – if you unplug him, you will kill him
In 9 months he will be better & can be
unplugged.
Would you unplug yourself?

3. Judith Jarvis Thompson’s Violist Analogy
Thompson’s analogy aims to justify abortion, even if the foetus is considered to be a person
According to Thompson, a foetus, like the violinist, has no rights over the woman’s body
No-one would expect you to stay plugged into the violinist therefore no-one should expect a woman to continue with a pregnancy she does not want.
To force the woman to continue with the pregnancy is to subject her to bodily harm as the foetus is abusing her body.

4. How useful is this analogy?
It only works if the woman has been raped
Pregnancy does not make a woman bed-bound
The foetus is not a stranger – it has a biological link to the woman
Responsibility to the baby will continue after 9 months

5. The feminist position
Claiming the right to abortion stems out of the rebellion against female oppression and patriarchal society.
Women’s role was primarily defined in terms of motherhood – equality was only really achieved at the latter half of 20th C
Mary-Anne Warren argued forcefully for women’s rights when it came to abortion

6. Mary-Anne Warren
Illegal, back street abortions lead to many women dying unnecessarily
Historically, women were forced to bear many children at short intervals & often died young – having a negative impact on society.
A teleogical approach would say abortion is good, for the overall health and wellbeing of society
Sex is an important part of life, accidents do happen and celibacy is not a viable option

7. Abortion must be permissible to maintain a woman’s right to life, liberty & self determination ( incl. freedom from bodily harm)
W.H.O. says unsafe abortions kill women every year
Warren argues that killing in most cases is wrong, but to deny a woman’s right to abortion denies her basic human rights.
Judith Jarvis Thompson sees abortion as an issue of self defence – we have the right to kill in self defence & so women should have the right to abortion

8. A woman can legally deprive a man of his right to become a parent or force him to become one against his will. (Armin A. Brott)
How important are the rights of the father?
Do the rights of the mother always override the rights of the father? Why?