Ideas of Judith (Jarvis) Thomson, by Theme

[American, b.1929, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.]

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9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 5. Temporal Parts
Temporal parts is a crazy doctrine, because it entails constantly creating stuff ex nihilo [Koslicki]
How can point-duration slices of people have beliefs or desires?
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 3. Abortion
It can't be murder for a mother to perform an abortion on herself to save her own life
No one is morally required to make huge sacrifices to keep someone else alive for nine months
The right to life does not bestow the right to use someone else's body to support that life
A newly fertilized ovum is no more a person than an acorn is an oak tree
Maybe abortion can be justified despite the foetus having full human rights [Foot]
The foetus is safe in the womb, so abortion initiates its death, with the mother as the agent. [Foot]
Is someone's right to life diminished if they were conceived by a rape?
The right to life is not a right not to be killed, but not to be killed unjustly