3. People’s Requirement to Help Others.
- Thomson suggests that there are no laws which require people to help others, aside from abortion. She sates that men are not legally required to be even minimally decent Samaritans by law, but women are required to be good Samaritans by the law not allowing abortion. (63)
- Thomson suggests that there is no foul in extricating oneself from helping others. In the violinist example, she states that there is no injustice in choosing not to help. She uses this and the Fonda example to suggest that there is no special responsibility to help others in these scenarios. (64-65)
- Thus, men and women who have children bear a special responsibility to provide for their children. But this responsibility stems from parents assuming the responsibility. So, Thomson suggests that people do not bear any kind of responsibility in helping unless they have assumed such responsibility. If parents chose not to have an abortion, they assume responsibility for the child. (65-66)
- Finally, a comparison between a 14-year-old rape victim and a woman who is 7 months pregnant is made. Thomson suggests that the women is unjust in having an abortion if her reason in doing so is to allow her to go on a trip abroad. However, because the 14-year-old did not consent or assume responsibility for the child, it is permissible to have an abortion. Thomson likens this to a woman wanting a fetus terminated vs. putting the child up for adaption stating that the unnecessary death is unjust. (66-67)
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