Analysis Of Judith Jarvis Thomson's A Defense Of Abortion

Through a string of metaphors and well-thought-out arguments, Judith Jarvis Thomson, in her writing of "A Defense of Abortion," was able to delineate her position on whether all abortion is morally permissible in particular cases. She would like to make it clear that she does not feel like it should be permissible for you to do the action if it does not have the correct reasonings behind it.

Thomson first creates an assumption that the baby is, in fact, a fetus is a person from the moment it was conceived (although she does not necessarily agree with it she goes on with it to build her point), and then continues by combating the opposing side's views with drastic metaphors to ensure that both sides understood what they were claiming. For instance, she depicts this hypothetical situation where a violinist,

A nurse proceeds to tell you that it will only be nine months, and you will need to remain in bed for the remainder of that period. This metaphor to rape is an extreme yet accurate perspective of the horrendous situation one was unfortunately placed in. She gives light to the fact that it is your body and you have the right to decide for it, but does it outweigh the right to life for another person? Thomson continues to give that question some thought by putting it into a different perspective in which she is now the one who is about to die and can only be revived by Henry Fonda's touch to her fevered brow. It does not sound reasonable for this man to fly from the West Coast just to come and save this woman’s heart, for he does not even know her so why would