J.J. Thomson grants for the sake of argument that the fetus has a right to life, but defends the permissibility of abortion by appeal to a thought experiment:
You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist. A famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help. They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist’s circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own. If he is unplugged from you now, he will die; but in nine months he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.
Is it morally permissible for you to unplug the violinist at any time or must you wait the 9 months? Why? Upon which moral theory or Ethical Principle does your answer rely? What, based on a moral theory we have discussed in class, determines when, if ever, you may unplug. Explain your answer.
Sample Solution
