Refuting a Pro-Abortion Argument

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doesn’t matter how useful they are, they just have to desire the continuation of their existence. As noted, a fetus doesn’t seem to gain sentience (and, consequently, desires) until at least 18 weeks into the pregnancy.
So if someone is suicidal I can kill them. What if you are in a coma for a week, was it oaky to kill you then?
Killing a lifeform that doesn’t have desires can’t be immoral, or at least not necessarily.
Yes it can. If someone is in a coma can I kill them?
Would you complain this much if I killed a plant?
No, a plant’s not human.
 
We’re all the judge of our own morality.
By that standard it’s okay for me to go to a nursing home and mug all the residents, right?

Because it’s immoral to murder people.
Having a certain genetic code makes one’s life valuable?
When you have human DNA, I’d say that makes you a human. So yes, having human DNA does make you more valuable than a plant.

Quote:
If we begin to say we may kill the developing fetus then we can also kill you or me or anyone else we want to label as an inconvenience. Down that road lies madness–the kind of madness that sent millions to their deaths in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, and the war on the unborn since the 1970’s.
Thank you. I hadn’t quite had my fill of baseless slippery slope arguments today.
Baseless? You are the one saying, and I quote:
“Yeah. And? Why does it matter that they’re human?”
Yes, because it affects the lives of sentient beings.
So if you’re in a coma I can torch destroy your lawn?
I’m not dehumanizing a group
. Actually you’re right. You said that it doesn’t matter if they are human, it’s okay to kill them anyway.
I’m saying that all life that lacks the trait of sentience is morally irrelevant, human or not
. So if you’re in a coma I can kill you?
your analogies are inaccurate.
How? They are comparing you to the main group of the last 100 years that tried to arbitrarily take away a group’s right to life.
And frankly, I don’t see what anyone means when they say that humans are valuable because they have “dignity.” What gives us (or anything) dignity?
I believe it’s the Lord, though even if you don’t believe in Him, are you saying humans should not be treated with dignity?
 
By that standard it’s okay for me to go to a nursing home and mug all the residents, right?
It’s not an ethical standard, it’s a fact. Morality is subjective not because I want it to be, but because it is. “I should not kill humans” will never be a descriptive, objective statement; it will always be prescriptive and subjective.

As for what seems to be your only other question, whether or not it is morally permissible for you to kill me while I’m in a coma depends on how much emotion is invested in the continuation of my life. Perhaps the suffering you’ll cause my family and friends will outweigh the utility of my death. In other words: will the action produce more happiness than suffering?

I know Christians like their morality to be all nice and tidy, but doing what’s right sometimes requires one to get their hands dirty. 😉
 
It’s not an ethical standard, it’s a fact. Morality is subjective not because I want it to be, but because it is. “I should not kill humans” will never be a descriptive, objective statement; it will always be prescriptive and subjective.

As for what seems to be your only other question, whether or not it is morally permissible for you to kill me while I’m in a coma depends on how much emotion is invested in the continuation of my life. Perhaps the suffering you’ll cause my family and friends will outweigh the utility of my death. In other words: will the action produce more happiness than suffering?

I know Christians like their morality to be all nice and tidy, but doing what’s right sometimes requires one to get their hands dirty. 😉
How would you know “what’s right”? You just told us it was “subjective”! You also said that’s a “fact” - prove it!

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

That’s what Christians love - the Truth!
 
How would you know “what’s right”? You just told us it was “subjective”! You also said that’s a “fact” - prove it!

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

That’s what Christians love - the Truth!
I gave my opinion of what’s right. If you want “proof” that ethics are subjective, you can either use common sense or do a search on David Hume’s is-ought gap. “I should…” does not describe anything, but rather pleads that something exist. Ethics are emotional statements that express one’s desire for something to be a certain way, not describe what something is.
 
I gave my opinion of what’s right. If you want “proof” that ethics are subjective, you can either use common sense or do a search on David Hume’s is-ought gap. “I should…” does not describe anything, but rather pleads that something exist. Ethics are emotional statements that express one’s desire for something to be a certain way, not describe what something is.
Words have meaning that have a common meaning. That is why we have dictionaries.
Ethics - the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.
They are not emotional statements that express desires yes they DO describe what something is.
Ethics is what you have when you do right and not wrong. It is a quality. Ethics are only subjective to those who have no standards and no quality of life.
 
Any ideas on refuting the following? It is from an atheist. I replied noting the arbitrary nature of the argument, but looking for other ideas from such smart folks out there!
🙂

Prior to 24-26 weeks, the fetus has no bilaterally synchronous EEG patterns. By all medical definitions, it is braindead. Prior to this point (typically 18 or 20 weeks to be safe) I do not believe a “human life” is being taken. There is no brain… No sentience or conscience to kill.
Dottiepo:

The argument you’ve cited can’t possible be a MEDICAL argument, because in cases where the Corpus Callosum has been cut, severed or otherwise hasn’t developed, there is NO such thing as bi-laterally synchronous EEG. In NONE of these cases do medical doctors, scientists or other health care professionals claim the person is “Brain Dead”. One of the people I know is a Past President of the American Association of Physicians Assistants who spent 16 years (1983-1999) treating AIDS patients. and, Doctors rely on ORGANIZED, not bilaterally synchronized, Brainwave Activity in “Calling a Code”.

A Severed Corpus Callosum is a REAL MEDICAL CONDITION:

Severed Corpus Callosum
youtube.com/watch?v=lfGwsAdS9Dc
Split-Brain Student
youtube.com/watch?v=xKTNg0Z35go&feature=related
Callosal Apraxia and Aphasia
youtube.com/watch?v=ra6ZKHiFM2g&feature=related

You’re “atheist friend” also using a different definition for the beginning of life than that used by SCIENTISTS and in almost all Physiology and Biology Textbooks, which is CONCEPTION. Now, I understand that scientists have been drawn into the now politicized debate about when Conception occurs, but if We accept Conception as when the Egg has been successfully fertilized by the Sperm, we’ll see that we’re taking at least 20-24 weeks before when your friend would accept the Embryo and then the Fetus as a Human Being. And, except for DEVELOPMENT, GROWTH and EDUCATION, everything that is present in us NOW was Present in us the day we were Conceived.

That’s why NO LOGIC or REASONING that your friend uses to justify ABORTION can’t be used to justify the killing of someone HE may actually know and love.

Tell him to think about it, LONG AND HARD. Because thinking such as what you spotlighted has led us to a “Brave New World”.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael
 
It doesn’t matter how useful they are, they just have to desire the continuation of their existence. As noted, a fetus doesn’t seem to gain sentience (and, consequently, desires) until at least 18 weeks into the pregnancy.

Killing a lifeform that doesn’t have desires can’t be immoral, or at least not necessarily. Would you complain this much if I killed a plant?
Oreoracle:

Humanity has been down this road before. I’m appalled to hear the same exact argument that was used before. In the Early 1930’s the Germans decided that those people who were Severely Mentally Retarded, and those who were Severely Mentally Ill, weren’t truly sentient, that they were a drag on the society and that they weren’t “worthy of life”.

From 1931-1945, German Psychiatrists & their assistants scoured German cities, towns & villages searching for children and adults who were either Severely Mentally Retarded or Severely Mentally Ill. Over a 16 year period, the Germans killed 250,000-300,000 Severely Mentally Retarded & Severely Mentally Ill children & adults.

The argument you used pretty much came from the following book -
The release of the destruction of Life Devoid of Value (Life Unworthy of Life). Its Measurement and form. Karl Binding & Alfred Hoche, 1922
chgs.umn.edu/histories/documentary/hadamar/racism.html
The Psychiatric Holocaust
home.iprimus.com.au/burgess1/breggin.html
Vacco v. Quill
all.org/article.php?id=10067
Libraries where you can borrow this book
worldcat.org/oclc/3998907

I’ve not heard any Logic or Reasoning justifying ABORTION that also can’t be used to justify the killing of other innocent people.

There’s a reason Scientists have used Genetics to define what SPECIES a living being is (in this case a"Human Being") and Conception to define when LIFE STARTS for several decades (centuries in the case of Conception). It works.

In Christ, Michael
 
It’s not an ethical standard, it’s a fact. Morality is subjective not because I want it to be, but because it is. “I should not kill humans” will never be a descriptive, objective statement; it will always be prescriptive and subjective.

As for what seems to be your only other question, whether or not it is morally permissible for you to kill me while I’m in a coma depends on how much emotion is invested in the continuation of my life. Perhaps the suffering you’ll cause my family and friends will outweigh the utility of my death. In other words: will the action produce more happiness than suffering?

I know Christians like their morality to be all nice and tidy, but doing what’s right sometimes requires one to get their hands dirty. 😉
Oreo:

One BIG problem with “Subjective Morality” is that there’s really no reason for someone who holds to that morality to worry about your welfare enough in that situation to treat you or to care about the suffering he or she would cause your family & friends. As I said in one of my previous posts, someone I know treated AIDS patients from 1982-1999 (he started near the nedd of 1982). HIV wasn’t isolated & identified, and they didn’t know how it was transmitted until 1985/6. and, AZT (the first effective AIDS drug) developed, produced & distributed until 1990-92.

Picture someone who thinks as you do having to decide whether or not to take care people who have a disease where (from 1982-1986) you have no idea if you’re going to get the same LETHAL disease from treating them. Picture someone who thinks as you do working 10 hours/day, 5days/week (from 1982-1991) watching 5-7 of YOUR patients DIE each and every WEEK.

I can tell you that NO ONE who thought as you do worked with AIDS patients for very long - It was TOO HEARTBREAKING! That was esp. true in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

A GP once asked my friend how he managed watching 5-7 of his patients die each week. He answered, “I can do this, because I know I’m going to see them again.” My friend’s patients became his friends, and that many of them came to his ordination to the priesthood in Nov. of 2003.

You talk about getting “your hands dirty” as if Christians aren’t taking care of sick and wounded people in countries around the world, as if Christians aren’t as if Christians aren’t having to protect the innocent in zones of conflict. We could have an entire thread on the things Christians do for others that “get their hands dirty”. It might be an eye-opener for you.

Yours In Christ, Michael
 
It’s not an ethical standard, it’s a fact. Morality is subjective not because I want it to be, but because it is. “I should not kill humans” will never be a descriptive, objective statement; it will always be prescriptive and subjective.
It is the exact opposite. That is an objective truth. It is self evident.
 
Words have meaning that have a common meaning. That is why we have dictionaries.
Ethics - the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.
They are not emotional statements that express desires yes they DO describe what something is.
Ethics is what you have when you do right and not wrong. It is a quality. Ethics are only subjective to those who have no standards and no quality of life.
First off, not all ethical systems focus on duty and obligation. Consequentialism dismisses duties entirely and concentrates on producing whatever is seen to be good.

Can you guess what the definition of “good” is? “Good” is “being positive or desirable in nature.” Desirable…hmm…sounds an awful lot like what I’ve been saying. The definitions of “bad” are in my favor as well.

You all can sit there cupping your ears and screaming that it isn’t so, but that doesn’t change a thing. Christians would say that 2+2=7 if it made them feel more comfortable in this chaotic world. 😉
 
Good people, methinks that Oreoracle is, what they say in internet parlance, a troll.
Each statment only seems to be desinged as a response to wind people up, with no coherent logic behind any of his arguments, with most of his 'fact’s shown to be inaccurate.
I wouldn’t entertain this any further.👍
 
Good people, methinks that Oreoracle is, what they say in internet parlance, a troll.
Each statment only seems to be desinged as a response to wind people up, with no coherent logic behind any of his arguments, with most of his 'fact’s shown to be inaccurate.
I wouldn’t entertain this any further.👍
But then, anyone who conjures up an idea that provokes actual thought is dismissed as a troll around here. We wouldn’t want people to question their beliefs so that they might lose their conformist chains, huh? No siree. Christianity is a “feel good” religion (like most religions) for those on the right side of the spectrum. As I said, Christians will typically believe anything or willfully ignore anything if it means comfort and security.
 
Prior to 24-26 weeks, the fetus has no bilaterally synchronous EEG patterns. By all medical definitions, it is braindead. Prior to this point (typically 18 or 20 weeks to be safe) I do not believe a “human life” is being taken. There is no brain… No sentience or conscience to kill.
A couple of notes. There have been many adults that have experienced a situtation in which they had had no bilaterally synchronous EEG patterns and were declared “brain dead”, but with God, brain dead isn’t dead. They came out of it and lived. Here are a couple of examples:

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12164

freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969811/posts

Also I don’t regard EEG patterns as a definition of life, I regard a soul as a definition of life and that person has a soul from the moment they are conceived. BTW. Conceived isn’t when the mother becomes pregnant, it’s when God conceives you into being.
 
But then, anyone who conjures up an idea that provokes actual thought is dismissed as a troll around here. We wouldn’t want people to question their beliefs so that they might lose their conformist chains, huh? No siree. Christianity is a “feel good” religion (like most religions) for those on the right side of the spectrum. As I said, Christians will typically believe anything or willfully ignore anything if it means comfort and security.
It is not about feeling good or bad. It is about truth and objective moral law. Questioning is great. The problem is once someone actuallys finds the truth they are called non critical thinkers or only interested in feeling good.
 
Christianity is a “feel good” religion (like most religions) for those on the right side of the spectrum. As I said, Christians will typically believe anything or willfully ignore anything if it means comfort and security.
On the contrary, living as a Christian will probably be one of the most difficult things you could attempt to do, and far from ‘feel good’ anything goes as long as I am OK, as you seem to believe. On the contrary, we don’t believe just about anything that comes along.
Moral dilemas are open to reasoned debate, but I could not help but notice how your arguments fell away to one side when it came to defending your own life, considering you are just a bunch of cells with a particular DNA code:popcorn:
 
Moral dilemas are open to reasoned debate, but I could not help but notice how your arguments fell away to one side when it came to defending your own life, considering you are just a bunch of cells with a particular DNA code:popcorn:
What do you mean “fell away to one side”? I’ve said that abortion may or may not be wrong in some cases just as killing an adult may or may not be wrong in some cases.

But you are right on one thing: Christians have to abide by a slew of pointless rules and, upon breaking them, must force themselves to express genuine guilt to repent. However, they also never have to think. It’s always easier being a drone than knowing that the onus is on you to find the truth and not condemn others for their search, even when they don’t end up in your denomination. Hellfire, or supporting those that use it, is never the answer. 😉
 
What do you mean “fell away to one side”? I’ve said that abortion may or may not be wrong in some cases just as killing an adult may or may not be wrong in some cases.

But you are right on one thing: Christians have to abide by a slew of pointless rules and, upon breaking them, must force themselves to express genuine guilt to repent. However, they also never have to think. It’s always easier being a drone than knowing that the onus is on you to find the truth and not condemn others for their search, even when they don’t end up in your denomination. Hellfire, or supporting those that use it, is never the answer. 😉
What is the difference between your position and being simply unprincipled? If searching for the truth leads one to accept error does that mean the search, in and of itself, is sufficient?
 
What is the difference between your position and being simply unprincipled? If searching for the truth leads one to accept error does that mean the search, in and of itself, is sufficient?
I never said that I would be satisfied if I knew that I accepted error; I will obviously try to improve as the facts are revealed to me. But I feel that, even if I, or you, or anyone, possessed the truth, we should not scorn others for not likewise possessing it, nor should we simply say “You don’t know, so obey me, since I do know.” as the Church does. We can only encourage others’ development.
 
Can you guess what the definition of “good” is? “Good” is “being positive or desirable in nature.” Desirable…hmm…sounds an awful lot like what I’ve been saying. The definitions of “bad” are in my favor as well.

You all can sit there cupping your ears and screaming that it isn’t so, but that doesn’t change a thing. Christians would say that 2+2=7 if it made them feel more comfortable in this chaotic world. 😉
I don’t guess I get facts. Where did you get your definition? There is numerous definitions of good. Webster does not define it as you do. Their definitions are not in your favor.
We are talking about good as a noun defined
2 a (1): virtuous, right, commendable (2): kind, benevolent

Bad also used as a noun
1 : something that is bad 2 : an evil or unhappy state 3 : fault 4
 
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