Because we don't know when life begins. We don't even know what life is. (The philosopher will now stop speaking.)
I read your disclaimer, and while I agree with the bulk, I must say that when the pro-choice camp says a fetus is not a person, they are (or at least I am) speaking in legal terms. And law is all about semantics. Once a fetus gains legal rights, that necessarily diminishes the rights of pregnant women. When that happens (and it already has), pregnant women will have fewer rights than other people in society--it would make pregnant women subhuman, legally.
Personally, I believe that actual life has precedence over possible life. The person who has been established in society and has familial, emotional and (yes) financial considerations should be given more of a say in what happens in a pregnancy than the nonthinking, nonbreathing dependent in her womb.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-06 08:34 pm (UTC)I read your disclaimer, and while I agree with the bulk, I must say that when the pro-choice camp says a fetus is not a person, they are (or at least I am) speaking in legal terms. And law is all about semantics. Once a fetus gains legal rights, that necessarily diminishes the rights of pregnant women. When that happens (and it already has), pregnant women will have fewer rights than other people in society--it would make pregnant women subhuman, legally.
Personally, I believe that actual life has precedence over possible life. The person who has been established in society and has familial, emotional and (yes) financial considerations should be given more of a say in what happens in a pregnancy than the nonthinking, nonbreathing dependent in her womb.