This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Pseudonym · 26-30, M
Originally a reply to another comment, but I think this deserves it's own place.
The premise of anti-abortionism is the 'sanctity of life'; i.e. the idea that life is precious and worthy of preservation. Further, it usually promotes the idea that all lives have equal value; i.e. no human's right to life is greater than that of another. But for those who argue that zygotes, embryos or foetus's are children and abortion is murder, think about the following...
Hypothetical (albeit ridiculous) thought experiment:
Your house is burning down and inside are your 5 year old child screaming your name, and in another room, your fertilised egg in a Petri dish which could be used to impregnate you.
You will only have time to save one of them from burning alive. But both 'are a life' and 'are your children', so how do you decide which to save? Impossible choice for those totally against abortion presumably.
'But that's not the same!', I hear you cry. That's true, but it serves to illustrate a point.
Maybe you remain steadfast in your beliefs and flip a coin to decide which of your 'children' lives. Or perhaps the value of your unborn child's life isn't equal to that of your 5 year old. But a life is just a life right?
Or perhaps modify the situation. Imagine instead that a 12 week old foetus is being kept alive in an incubator (future technology, let's say). Your 5 year old child is screaming for help, and you can still only save one of them. What do you do?
Save your 5 year old I'd guess.
What about 14 weeks? 20 weeks? 30 weeks? How old does that foetus need to be before you choose to save it instead?
Or maybe instead of a foetus, it's a surrogate mother to your child? Or your wife pregnant with your baby?
Do you save two lives or one?
The point is that clearly not all lives are equal when you're talking about unborn children. It instinctively isn't the same 'kind of life' as the life of fully developed baby. Else the decision to choose between the zygote and child would truly be impossible.
Thus, murder isn't just murder. There is a massive grey area when it comes to life and abortion. You cannot justifiably say that a life is just a life, when it demonstrably isn't.
The premise of anti-abortionism is the 'sanctity of life'; i.e. the idea that life is precious and worthy of preservation. Further, it usually promotes the idea that all lives have equal value; i.e. no human's right to life is greater than that of another. But for those who argue that zygotes, embryos or foetus's are children and abortion is murder, think about the following...
Hypothetical (albeit ridiculous) thought experiment:
Your house is burning down and inside are your 5 year old child screaming your name, and in another room, your fertilised egg in a Petri dish which could be used to impregnate you.
You will only have time to save one of them from burning alive. But both 'are a life' and 'are your children', so how do you decide which to save? Impossible choice for those totally against abortion presumably.
'But that's not the same!', I hear you cry. That's true, but it serves to illustrate a point.
Maybe you remain steadfast in your beliefs and flip a coin to decide which of your 'children' lives. Or perhaps the value of your unborn child's life isn't equal to that of your 5 year old. But a life is just a life right?
Or perhaps modify the situation. Imagine instead that a 12 week old foetus is being kept alive in an incubator (future technology, let's say). Your 5 year old child is screaming for help, and you can still only save one of them. What do you do?
Save your 5 year old I'd guess.
What about 14 weeks? 20 weeks? 30 weeks? How old does that foetus need to be before you choose to save it instead?
Or maybe instead of a foetus, it's a surrogate mother to your child? Or your wife pregnant with your baby?
Do you save two lives or one?
The point is that clearly not all lives are equal when you're talking about unborn children. It instinctively isn't the same 'kind of life' as the life of fully developed baby. Else the decision to choose between the zygote and child would truly be impossible.
Thus, murder isn't just murder. There is a massive grey area when it comes to life and abortion. You cannot justifiably say that a life is just a life, when it demonstrably isn't.