Doubts about a classic defence of abortion.
Professor Judith Jarvis Thomson's seminal paper "A defence of abortion" published in 1971 has formed part of higher education syllabi for decades. In the paper Thomson criticizes one of the fundamental arguments against abortion, that is, the right of the foetus to life by denying that the foetus is a person. This article argues that her thought experiments do not compare to the reality of abortion and focuses on the influence of the paper on arguments concerning personhood.
Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School, Queens Road, Brentwood, Essex CM14 4EX, UK. jdifford@buchs.co.uk
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D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D019365:Metaphor; D028681:Moral Obligations; D028723:Personhood; D011247:Pregnancy