Question

With the violinist scenario, Judith Jarvis Thomson tries to show that:

a) Abortion is always morally wrong
b) A woman's right to control her body is absolute
c) People have a duty to save others
d) Violinists have a right to life

Answer 1

Judith Jarvis Thomson's violinist scenario is a thought experiment designed to question the extent of a fetus's right to life compared to a woman's right to bodily autonomy, arguing that the latter can take precedence.

Step-by-step explanation:

Judith Jarvis Thomson's violinist scenario, presented in A Defense of Abortion, is a philosophical thought experiment intended to examine the moral justifications for and against abortion.

Thomson suggests that even if a fetus has a right to life, that right does not necessarily override a woman's right to control her own body, a concept known as bodily autonomy.

The scenario involves you being involuntarily connected to a famous violinist to use your kidneys to filter his blood, with varying durations proposed for the required connection.

This is meant to provoke thought on at what point someone's freedom trumps another's right to life, implying that rights are not unlimited and absolute.

Through this, Thomson argues that abortions can be morally permissible, emphasizing the importance of an individual's right over their own physical autonomy.