Legal or Illegal: Abortion?

[Vampyr]

Originally Posted by Professor S

You don't know, so you default to it not being human. I don't know, and I default to it being a life. You proived my point.



I'm having hard time understanding your point in the context of this discussion. What do you mean by talking about "pain"? Who is experiencing the pain? Life is pain? What does pain have to do with pregnancy and the discussion of abortion? Please explain.

And I never said abortion was bloodthirsty, I actually think its a pretty emotionless and dehumanizing procedure... it has to be for people to stomach it. I've had two friends who have had abortions, and they haven't really ever been the same since.

That first part of my post was actually all towards the vegetative state discussion.

What does the act of rape have to do with whether or not a child is alive? Using your explanation, if there were two pregancies, one conceived legitimately of love and one of rape, only one of them is a child? Why does the act of conception dictate how alive a child is?



That's debateable. If a child is born and a person immediately killed it, wouldn't it be murder? That child can't support itself, but its murder.

So in the end, aren't we determining human life on intent of the parents instead of the life of the child? And in the end, isn't that a very dangerous way to think as we begin to say that life is only as valuable as we choose to define it?

You're misunderstanding me. I'm saying that life cannot be defined as starting upon conception because that would make women who get abortions because they were raped and do not want the baby murderers. But that's just a general overstatement. So maybe I am saying that life is only as valuable as we choose to define it. I'm not sure what's dangerous about that, it's how we've always done things.

I don't believe that it is human life regardless, and I hold that women have the right to choose how their bodies are used. I hold that men shouldn't make that decision for them. I hold that a fetus isn't life. I think that the people making this decision are people who will never have to deal with the consequences, so it makes it easy for them. I hold that they do not have empathy, and are being self righteous.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

That first part of my post was actually all towards the vegetative state discussion.

My argument hoilds for both cases. No one knew whether or not Terry was alive or dead, and there were experts on both sides... so in not knowing, we terminated her. Yay us.

You're misunderstanding me. I'm saying that life cannot be defined as starting upon conception because that would make women who get abortions because they were raped and do not want the baby murderers.

I understand you completely, but I fail to see how a life is dictated, even in part, by its conception. In that case, we should be able to use test tube babies for batting practice.

But that's just a general overstatement. So maybe I am saying that life is only as valuable as we choose to define it. I'm not sure what's dangerous about that, it's how we've always done things.

If you don't know why thats dangerous, I can't tell you.