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Martin Greenwald, M.D.'s avatar

Good stuff. It's crazy to think about the amount of torn social fabric and human energy wasted on a political cause that so many ordinary citizens actually can reach some agreement on. "Safe, legal, and rare" is clearly the only workable and humane policy, and the modal American knows this.

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Vaishnav Sunil's avatar

I agree with all your conclusions but let me state my position in the most provocative way possible. So why would one think that such a life is worth protecting? Here are the often listed reasons:

1. Because most lives are net positive: Fetuses are sort of fungible, and forcing someone to have this specific one, probably forecloses the future of another one in the future. (and the specific one in question will likely have a worse life, all else equal, given decision to abort). Also if we wanted to impose this on people, we need to be pushing people to have as many kids as possible. (whcih might be a good idea but I digress).

2. Because when you take a life, you make everyone who loves that person sad - Not applicable, since mother would be more sad if you didn't let her abort. And that's the only person we can reasonably expect the fetus to have any bond or special relationship with.

3. Because it's hard to kill something without hurting it - Yea, this one I have a lot of sympathy for. The development of a nervous system should def be a factor in what types of procedures we allow.

3. Because from every life, emerges an interest in preserving itself, of hope, anspirations etc - Ya fetuses have none of that. Babies don't either actually, maybe not even toddlers.

4. To preserve the norm because it would be much better if everyone believed life was worth serving - Ya fair, that's why maybe allowing people to kill their toddlers is a bit much since it's harder to explain why you can now arbitarily kill a human being. Birth seems like a perfect time to endow someone with personhood, given at least physical autonomy. Everything after that gets a little messy.

So that's my position. The people who believe that a week old fetus is almost a life are most certainly crazy - there's no secular non crazy way to argue it. I'd feel like being kind to them but unfortunately, they seem so persistent about imposing their delusions on the rest of us, that I chose to write this in the most indignant way to offend at least one of them.

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