PHIL 1401 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Fetus, Henry Fonda
10/23/17
1. Intentionally killing an innocent human being is murder.
2. A fetus is an innocent human being.
3. So, killing a fetus is murder.
-doesn’t work
1. It is arbitrary to draw a line in the development of a fetus and claim that the fetus is a
person only after such a line has been reached/crossed.
2. But eventually the fetus is a person.
3. Therefore, we must draw the line at conception; personhood begins there.
Objection:
-the conclusion doesn’t follow. Acorns are not oak trees.
Thomson thinks:
-well before birth, we have a human person
Thomson’s Strategy
-grants for sake of argument that the fetus is a person
-she wants to consider the move from there to the impermissibility of abortion
The “Extreme View” & the Violinist
-extreme view - abortion is impermissible even to save a mother’s life
1. The fetus is a person.
2. Persons have the right to life.
3. While letting a person die need not be a violation of the right to life, directly killing a
person is a violation of the right to life.
4. Therefore, while it may be permissible in some circumstances to let a person die when
saving them would lead to one’s own death, it is never permissible to directly kill a
person in order to save oneself.
5. Therefore, it is never permissible to kill a fetus, not even if the mother’s life is in danger.
Objection:
-the violinist case where you die if you don’t unplug
-you wake up and you find yourself connected to a violinist
-the violinist needs to stay plugged into you in order to stay alive
-the violinist says that you are going to die within a few months
-Is it permissible to unplug from the violinist?
The Moderate View & the Violinist
-abortion is wrong except when the mother’s life is at stake
1. The fetus is a person.
2. Persons have a right to life.
3. While a mother has the right to determine what shall happen in and to her body, a
person’s right to life is stronger and more stringent than the mother’s right to decide what
happens in and to her body, and so outweighs it.
Document Summary
10/23/17: intentionally killing an innocent human being is murder, a fetus is an innocent human being, so, killing a fetus is murder. Well before birth, we have a human person. Grants for sake of argument that the fetus is a person. She wants to consider the move from there to the impermissibility of abortion. The violinist case where you die if you don"t unplug. You wake up and you find yourself connected to a violinist. The violinist needs to stay plugged into you in order to stay alive. The violinist says that you are going to die within a few months. Henry fonda example - hot, amazing actor, only his hand could save your life, not required for fonda to do that. Violinist has no right to be given the use of my or anyone"s kidneys (unless you give him such a right) Thomson claims that the right to life is problematic.
