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parable · 08-31-2007, 12:10 PM

Willtravel,

You said "Normally in a conversation about whether a fetus should or shouldn't be aborted comes down to whether the fetus is alive. The question of whether an alive person does or doesn't have rights is so obvious that it's not even brought up. It's naturally assumed."

You are using the terms "fetus" and "person" interchangeably, and this is precisely the point of under consideration. "Fetus" is a medical term, "person" is a legal term. A fetus is not a person until it is legally recognized as such.

You said "There are two classifications for living human being as far as levels of rights: adult (usually 18+) or child (usually less than 18). Assuming you believe a fetus is alive, it is a living human being under the age of 18, therefore it seems reasonable to be that a fetus gets the same rights as any other child. They can't vote, but you can't kill them."

This brings up the other term that comes up, "child". Legally, a "child" has already been born. Some like to use the term "unborn child", but in the legal context of the word "child", "unborn child" is an oxymoron. That's like saying "un-mature adult".

As for DNA, from your comment I infer that you would agree that DNA is not the basis on which to determine "personhood", is that correct?

08-31-2007, 12:10 PM	#223 (permalink)
parable Upright	Willtravel, You said "Normally in a conversation about whether a fetus should or shouldn't be aborted comes down to whether the fetus is alive. The question of whether an alive person does or doesn't have rights is so obvious that it's not even brought up. It's naturally assumed." You are using the terms "fetus" and "person" interchangeably, and this is precisely the point of under consideration. "Fetus" is a medical term, "person" is a legal term. A fetus is not a person until it is legally recognized as such. You said "There are two classifications for living human being as far as levels of rights: adult (usually 18+) or child (usually less than 18). Assuming you believe a fetus is alive, it is a living human being under the age of 18, therefore it seems reasonable to be that a fetus gets the same rights as any other child. They can't vote, but you can't kill them." This brings up the other term that comes up, "child". Legally, a "child" has already been born. Some like to use the term "unborn child", but in the legal context of the word "child", "unborn child" is an oxymoron. That's like saying "un-mature adult". As for DNA, from your comment I infer that you would agree that DNA is not the basis on which to determine "personhood", is that correct? __________________ "If you aren't confused, you haven't been paying attention."