First of all, the “it’s my body!” argument falls flat on its face. You can have things, in your body, that aren’t your body. If a guinea worm is inside you, is it your body? No, and no one would argue it is. The human fetus is a separate organism that relies on the nourishment of the mother for nine months. It is not a part of her body, like a heart or lung, it is a separate life form altogether.
The fetus is a separate life form that relies on a mother to nourish it for a set period of time. This does not exclude it from being an organism, as many other distinct species require a host species for a set amount or unlimited amount of time. Furthermore, the life of the fetus is totally left up to the interpretation of the mother. If someone murders a pregnant woman, they are committing double murder, according to the legal system. Why is the total legal jurisdiction of an organism left to the mother if it is not her body? That is the question.
