> I don't see how it matters whether the fetus is alive or not. If it can't survive outside the mother then the mother has the right to kill it. This is a vali

> I don't see how it matters whether the fetus is alive or not. If it can't survive outside the mother then the mother has the right to kill it. This is a valid position to hold, but hardly a non-controversial one. We have, as a society, agreed that the state’s role is to step in to defend the defenseless in cases of large power asymmetry, as would be the case here. Indeed this general principle is usually a leftist position. > Either way you made a risky choice that you knew could cause someone's life to be dependent on you. That doesn't mean you're forced to save the person. Actually it does (speaking generally, not to your specific example). Criminal or civil negligence is a thing.