Quote:
Originally posted by taxwonk
That is a good argument. However, it overlooks a more basic metaphysical argument. Is a fetus a "life" as we conceive of it in political and social terms?
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Oh, I agree that this is THE argument, the one this all devolves to. Just like the slavery one - are blacks human? - determined the outcome of that controversy, this will determine how the abortion argument goes. (It became the accepted paradigm, after a bit, that, yes, blacks were human, and deserving of human value.) If, tomorrow, we all became one in our agreement that a fetus is NOT life until birth, then abortion would be an easy call. If, tomorrow, we all decided that a fetus is a human life, with all of the socially-conferred rights of everyone else, then, again, it would be an easy call.
We can throw all sorts of arguments out at each other - the rights of the mother, social utility, religion, whatever - but it's all going to hinge on how this question evolves.
