"Third , the violinist illustration is not parallel to pregnancy because it equates a stranger/stranger relationship with a mother/child relationship . This is a key point and brings into focus the most dangerous presumption of the violinist illustration , also echoed in McDonagh 's thesis . Both presume it is unreasonable to expect a mother to have any obligations towards her own child . The violinist analogy suggests that a mother has no more responsibility for the welfare of her child than she has to a total stranger . McDonagh 's view is even worse . She argues the child is not merely a stranger , but a violent assailant the mother needs to ward off in self-defense . This error becomes immediately evident if we amend Thompson 's illustration . What if the mother woke up from an accident to find herself surgically connected to her own child ? What kind of mother would willingly cut the life-support system to her two-year-old in a situation like that ? And what would we think of her if she did ? Blood relationships are never based on choice , yet they entail moral obligations , nonetheless . This is why the courts prosecute negligent parents . They have consistently ruled , for example , that fathers have an obligation to support their children even if they are unplanned and unwanted . If it is moral for a mother to deny her child the necessities of life ( through abortion ) before it is born , how can she be obligated to provide the same necessities after he 's born ? Remember , Thompson concedes that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception . If her argument works to justify abortion , it works just as well to justify killing any dependent child . After all , a two-year-old makes a much greater demand on a woman than a developing unborn ."
"This seems to be the central argument : the article continues to give many examples of moral disapproval of neglecting or murdering your children . However , it ignores the fact that parenthood is a relationship which is not defined simplistically by genetic relation or by being in the womb ( it is unclear if he thinks surrogate mothers should be able to have abortions ) . We can be prosecuted for neglecting an adopted child or step-child , or anyone we have parental responsibility for . On the other hand , if a person gives their child up for adoption then they can not be charged with negligence if the child is deserted by its new parents . One interesting part :"
"The violinist analogy suggests that a mother has no more responsibility for the welfare of her child than she has to a total stranger . McDonagh 's view is even worse ."
"This seems to be the central argument : the article continues to give many examples of moral disapproval of neglecting or murdering your children"