Topic: Abortion
Quote: This is not a part of the argument, though. Whether or not the woman can or cannot perform activities she wishes to do (which is not the case in pregnancy, btw, or at least varies greatly according to the individual) is irrelevant; it deals with the moral question of disconnecting someone who will die if they are not connected with you. The argument is equally applicable no matter the woman\xe2\x80\x99s mobility.
Response: Again, I think this to be relevant for the same reason as I think the consent issue to be relevant. Thomson's argument is an appeal to moral intuition. We are told the violinist must be bed-ridden for nine months in order to support the violinist. This scenario presents one gut reaction. But, if we change the scenario to say that, though the violinst must be connected for nine months, the donor is not bed-ridden, and in fact experiences no ill effects save (to draw as close a comparison to pregnancy as possible) the same ill effects of pregnancy (morning sickness, etc.), then I think another gut reaction arises.\nThomson's appeal, as far as I can tell, is purely to our intuition. The force of her argument relies on the fact that we must place ourselves in the position of the donor, and presumably, when we do we find it unacceptable for the donor not to have the choice to disconnect the violinist. However, using the same line of argument, if we present the argument as I have suggested (that is, relating it as closley to pregnancy as possible), a different outcome likely arises. That is, given that the time of connection is limited to nine months, that either voluntary or passive consent was given, and that the only ill-effects suffered are the same ill-effects experienced during pregnancy, I think the donor is morally obligated to continue the support of the violinist. And, as I suggested above, I think the intuitions of the majority of people support this conclusion, seeing how they seem to believe that abortion should be subjected to more restrictions than is currently the case.
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