on well before birth" (Thomson 431). She notes the evidence that the fetus develops human-like characteristics early in the gestation period. She thus begins by allowing the premise. She finds that abortion opponents spend much time proving that a fetus is a human being and do not bother then carrying their argument into why abortion is impermissible, assuming that because the fetus is human, abortion has to be impermissible.
In order to clarify the issues, Thomson postulates an extreme example. She uses the analogy of waking up to find oneself linked to an unconscious violinist with a fatal kidney ailment. It is argued that you must remain linked to the violinist because to disengage would kill him and because all persons have a right to life, but Thomson argues that this does not place a special burden upon you at all. It may be true that a given person has a right to life, but that does not carry with it a right or claim against any particular person that he or she provide the conditions that may be essential for his life to continue. It might be nice if you did, but there is nothing that will force you to comply and so to give life to another.
Thomson makes he analogy even clearer by stating that you have been tethered to this violinist and that you must remain so for nine months, just as would a woman having a baby have to keep that baby inside her for that period of time. One difference would be that you were kidnapped before this was done to you while you were asleep, and so you have no responsibility in the matter at all as a pregnant woman normally would. If the woman were raped, the analogy would be better. Thomson states that whether or not you have a right to life should not depend on whether or not you are a product of a rape. Those opposing abortion do not make an exception for rape or incest or anything at all, and in some cases not even when an abortion would save the life of the mother.
Thomson argues ...