PHL 304 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Judith Jarvis Thomson, Fetus, Harry Blackmun
Document Summary
Describe thoroughly the analogies she uses to make her case. She believes it is a mistake to assume that even if the fetus is a person from the moment of conception, that it still follows that it is wrong to kill it. The right to life does not entail the right to use someone"s body without their permission. She uses two analogies to argue this point. The violinist analogy describes a situation in which a famous violinist becomes ill, and needs a kidney transplant. The music lover"s society kidnaps a compatible donor, and hooks him to the violinist without the man"s consent. The society explains that should the man unhook himself, the violinist will die; they ask for nine months of his time, thus saving the violinist"s life. The question is whether it is moral for the man to unhook himself.
