In response to: A Defense of #Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson

Our friend Henry posted a link to a paper called:  A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson.

Below is my response:

The most persuasive point in the Thomson's paper is bringing the abortion issue to a personal level with the violinist dilemma.

One day you're kipnapped and when you wake up, a world renowned violinist who had been waiting for a kidney transplant is now attached to your kidneys and using them to filter his blood and stay alive.  What do you do (think rape/abortion)?   You didn't want this.  If you unplug him, he will surely die.

I love the dilemma. It's not longer a woman's problem.  Now it's my problem. Yes - no one has the right to use my kidneys but now I have someone attached to me who now is relying on my body for his existence. I wish we heard more violinists type of examples on TV or the news where the debate is usually carried out via cardboard signs or angry looking faces.

The paper is good but it misses the point that the Abortion debate is tough only because it deals with a baby. I wish it could have dealt more with that.

Even though I didn't ask or approve the use of my kidneys, the right thing would still be to let the violinist live. This is what makes us humans. This is why in the arts (films/literature, etc)  one always sacrificies himself/herself for the group. The greater good. The best thing to do.

And yes in a moment of anger, or frustration, or anguish, one might pull the plug and one would feel self-righteous about it. But if absolute moral values exist, then this would still be wrong. No greater love has a man than to die for a friend -- let alone a stranger.

Just like we have debates about God's existence, I hope we start hearing more debates about abortion.