RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 My body, still my choice: an objection to Hendricks on abortion
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 145
OP 145
DO 10.1136/jme-2022-108538
VO 49
IS 2
A1 Kyle van Oosterum
YR 2023
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/49/2/145.abstract
AB In ‘My body, not my choice: against legalised abortion’, Hendricks offers an intriguing argument that suggests the state can coerce pregnant women into continuing to sustain their fetuses. His argument consists partly in countering Boonin’s defence of legalised abortion, followed by an argument from analogy. I argue in this response article that his argument from analogy fails and, correspondingly, it should still be a woman’s legal choice to have an abortion. My key point concerns the burdensomeness of pregnancy which is morally relevant to the question of whether the state can coerce people to use their bodies to help another person.