Boonin, D. Beyond Roe_Why Abortion Should be Legal

Contraceptive Failure | 29
for the state to do this to Shimp in this fictional version of the
story, then it would also be wrong for the state to prevent Alice
from having an abortion when she becomes pregnant as the result
of rape. Third, if it would be wrong for the state to do this to
Shimp in the real case of McFall and Shimp, then it would also be
wrong for the state to do this to Shimp in a second fictional version
of the story where Shimp slips on the floor and accidentally
starts supplying McFall with some of his bone marrow. Fourth, if
it would be wrong for the state to do this to Shimp in this second
fictional version of the story, then it would also be wrong for the
state to prevent Barbara from having an abortion when she accidentally
becomes pregnant because the condom broke.
If I’ve been right about all this, then if you agree with Judge
Flaherty’s decision in the real-​life case of McFall v. Shimp,
you should also agree that it would be wrong for the state to
ban abortion at least in cases where the pregnant woman was
raped and in cases where the pregnant woman had sex voluntarily
while unsuccessfully using birth control. Since you agree
it would be wrong for the state to force Shimp to keep McFall
alive even though McFall was a person with a right to life, you
should agree it would be wrong for the state to force a pregnant
woman to carry her pregnancy to term in these cases even if you
think the fetus is also a person with a right to life. And since you
might think Shimp’s refusal to keep McFall alive is immoral in
these cases even though it would be wrong for the state to force
Shimp to keep McFall alive, you should agree it would be wrong
for the state to prevent Alice and Barbara from having abortions
in these cases even if you think it would be immoral for them to
have abortions in these cases.
Some defenses of the claim that abortion should be legal depend
on the claim that the fetus isn’t really a person or on the
claim that abortion isn’t immoral. But the defense of abortion
rights I’ve offered here doesn’t depend on either of these claims.