Quote:
Originally posted by hilbert25
People like to claim that it's just a clump of cells, but if it is just that, then how can you explain why it has more of an emotional attachment to people then a hairstyle or fingernail?
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IMO, they're attached because one day it will be a child. They're attached to the fact that they're currently growing another human being inside of them and that they WILL be a mother and have a family.
If you get into an *accident* which results in the mother losing her baby, do you really get manslaughter (and jail time) for that? That's kinda messed up... accidents happen, ya know? But if you purposely went up to a mother and did something that resulted in her losing her baby, then yes, it makes sense for that to be illegal as opposed to the mother making a consious choice in having a doctor remove a fetus.
As for the govt having the right to determine what you can/cannot do... a lot of those examples you gave fit well with "your rights end where mine begin" or basically your actions have a direct impact on others. That's why you can't trespass, be nude in public, etc...
Also, there are quite a few laws that don't really make much sense like prostitution. Yeah, might seem dirty and nasty to most people, but if someone wants to accept money for sex and both parties consent, then why is it anyone else's business? Is it because it's not taxed? Go to Nevada, you can shell out money at a bunny ranch and go to town as you please.
The banning of drugs is another nonsensical law. If I go home and decide to smoke a joint in the privacy of my own home, then why shouldn't I be allowed? Why is it one form of altering your consciousness is legal (alochol) while another is illegal (marijuana)...
What about cigarettes? You get tons of people who feel cigarettes should be illegal and banned, but really... it's not their place to do so. If I want to smoke, then I'll smoke.
Abortion, to me, is in the same category. Yes, those against it will produce some very insightful questions from a moral standpoint, but it really boils down to personal choice. I think in reality there are far more pressing issues that are negatively affecting our society than people who get abortions.
As for late term abortions, I thought I heard somewhere that Bush made 'em illegal, but if they aren't well.. I feel if you're in your 7 month of pregnancy, you can't exactly say, "Well I didn't know. I'm not ready and I don't want it." You should've said that earlier on. Might as well tough it out for another 2 months.
Let's put it this way: if my girlfriend became pregnant and we knew about it in the first month or two, then an abortion would be a likely choice if we decided that now wasn't the right time (and now isn't the right time, so that'd be the most likely scenario). If, for some strange reason, we didn't know she was pregnant till 7 months into it (which is highly unlikely)... I personally wouldn't consider an abortion. Why? I don't know, probably because it's more developed at that point and could actually live on its own (I think) if it happened to be born at that stage in the development of the embryo.