Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
No, I mean alive. Whether it is satient or not is irrelevant. Otherwise, it would be acceptable to kill many human beings born with severe birth defects.
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Well, what is your definition of alive then?
I think if you still factor in the weighing of the mother's rights to control her own body against the fetus' rights you can draw the line at sentient human being without making it acceptable to kill humans born with severe birth defects. You don't have the issue of the mother's right to control her own body with a human born with severe birth defects. The person is already born so the mother's rights to control her own body aren't a factor.
This is why the focus really has to be on the weighing of the rights of the mother and the fetus if you ask me. I think that the point at which the fetus becomes a sentient human being, the fetus' rights should be more important than prior to that point. The problem is that modern medicine hasn't yet developed the sophistication to determine that point.
