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Thompson Abortion

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The subject of abortion is always and will most likely continue to be a subject of controversy and disagreement. Basically we have two sides, one that is pro-life and the other being pro-choice. Judith Jarvis Thompson clearly takes the pro-choice stance and gives unique arguments on the subject of abortion. On the other hand Don Marquis supports the pro-life position on the topic of abortion. While neither will ever agree, both make points that will make you truly think about how you feel as an individual. Judith Jarvis Thompson takes a pro-choice stance and using examples or viewpoints that are easily relatable to demonstrate her point on the subject of abortion. While the samples she uses are unlikely to occur, they are understandable. Our…show more content…
Specifically, the argument discussing the violinist was very intriguing. If you think about a person need to be plugged into the violinist to sustain life, much like a person requiring dialysis, it makes it seem understandable and relatable. An unborn child requires the umbilical cord in order to maintain life and grow into a productive human. I felt her argument seemed to make connections to life situations, even though it was not a real world scenario. Thompson even goes as far as to say that the kidnapped victim can be compared to that of a rape victim even if the victim took all precautions by staying out of dark alleys. Perhaps providing more scenarios made Thompsons article more persuasive. She did not stop at the violinist; she also had the baby that was growing at such a rapid rate that it could kill the mother. Therefore, without killing the baby the mother would die. Thompson argument on contraception was also covered through the sample of the spores. Sometime the screens you use are just bad and spores enter the room. Other times the screen may have been broken and the spore is able to start growing. While Thompson went down the path of more Science Fiction type samples it made her point come across in a strong fashion. However, on the weak side of her arguments the examples of her arguments were way out there and never…show more content…
Perhaps his essay and argument was more difficult to follow. It is common sense that it is wrong to kill. His reading is not convincing to why it is that the unborn child is being robbed of its future through abortion. While this is true for the most part it is just too broad. His strongest point is simply that killing is not right and it does rob the victim of their future. This was especially true when he discussed the argument of contraception. Marquis took his argument of abortion to a level that was not relatable and too cumbersome. After all, not every sperm and every egg will become a fetus. In addition, if you are robbing an unborn child of its future then how would this matter if the fetus lacks awareness? When someone is alive and is murdered they are currently living and are on track for a future. Marquis was not specific about which abortions are moral or abortions that occur because the mother’s life is at risk. While his basic argument was killing is wrong, including abortion, because it robs the person of their future he could have provided stronger stories to relate with his arguments. In Marquis argument every fetus has a future and if an abortion occurs, then the fetus is not given the opportunity to its future. Therefore, there should be no abortions no matter what the situation could
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