Abstract

In a recent discussion of my "Foetuses, Famous Violinists, and the Right to Continued Aid", Mark Strasser argues (in effect) that I misunderstood my own argument and am therefore not entitled to conclude that, assuming the foetus to be a person with the same rights as you or I, abortion (even to end rape-caused pregnancy) cannot be justified in the way Judith Thomson attempted in her wellknown paper.' I don't believe I misunderstood my argument. What I propose to do here is to clarify it, especially the distinction between 'dependence' and 'reliance', and to show that Strasser's criticism is plainly mistaken.