Related Ideas

Review these ideas and then use the BACK key on your browser to go back to the page you were on.

We must be careful when we ascribe responsibility to women or anyone else. This is especially true when we begin to argue that there was something she or he could have done to avoid some consequence. If a woman is raped in a parking lot is she responsible because she could have stayed home? If a man is hit by a drunk driver is he responsible because he could have taken the bus? It would seem not.

The fact that there was something a person could have done that would have prevented or avoided an event E is not enough to make him or her even partially responsible for E. Some philosophers have suggested that we must judge by what a reasonable person would have known and done. If so, what precautions is it reasonable for a woman to take to avoid pregnancy?

Some of the points made here assume that we can agree on what it means to say that a woman freely chose to become pregnant (or to carry a child beyond some point). Based on the degree of freedom, we can then assign to her a degree of responsibility and certain obligations to her child. How would you define a free choice, especially the choice to have sex?

We could define sexual intercourse as free if it does not occur under the threat of violence. By this definition most sex is voluntary. But suppose we define sex as free only if it occurs within a relationship in which a man and a woman share power equally? Or within a culture in which men and women share power equally? perhaps there are many plausibe definitions betweeen these two. How would you define a free or voluntary act? Can you give reasons for accepting one definition rather than another? Keep in mind that it won't do to arbitrarily define 'free' so that it supports your view on abortion.