Erika Bachiochi has a wonderful new post on the Public Discourse Blog entitled 40 Years Later: How to Undo the Autonomy Argument for Abortion Rights. In the post, she responds to the autonomy argument made famous by Judith Jarvis Thomason in A Defense of Abortion.
She argues, like UFL member Frank Beckwith who she quotes, that the act of conceiving a child creates unique responsibilities that include continuing the pregnancy through birth. She notes that while American law does not impose a legal requirement that every citizen act as a Good Samaritan to those in danger, it does require that those who are responsbile for creating the danger must act to rescue the victim. “[P]arents share an affirmative legal duty toward their unborn child who, in his vulnerability, is utterly dependent upon their help and assistance—even more so than their born child, for whom other competent adults could care.”
The length of the article makes it ideal for classroom use, and I recommend it highly.