“A Defense of Abortion”
Summary: Thomson explains both sides of the argument whether abortion is morally
permissible or not through many different analogies.
– Analogy 1 (Rape): Say you wake up one morning next to a violinist and you have tubes
running from your kidney to another man’s body. The man needs your kidneys for the
next 9 months so that they can absorb the toxins from his body, and he can live. If you
detach yourself from the man, he dies. You never asked to be pregnant and have this
child. Therefore, you should be able to make the decision what to do with it.
– Analogy 2 (Birth Control): You leave the house, lock the doors, and put bars on the
windows. The house is about 95% protected from intruders coming in, but not 100%.
Much like birth control or a condom. You come home to discover that a man has broken
in your house and he tells you that he has to live in the house for the next 9 months or
he’s going to die. You still have the right to kick him out because you didn’t ask for him
to stay. Therefore, you should have the right to have an abortion as well because you
didn’t ask to be pregnant technically.
– Analogy 3 (Death): You are trapped in a house with a growing child. They are growing at
