Danman27 said: My problem with the current debate is the fact that it's not really a debate, and that's because it seems that many of the vocal people on either side completely fail to see the opposing side's argument. I'm a college student, and I'm actually afraid to say that I'm pro-life because I know I'm probably going to get labelled as a misogynist, bigot, who just wants to limit women's freedom. And on the other side, many pro-life people think that a pro-choice person is just a baby killer because being pregnant is an inconvenience. Both are incredibly wrong. I'm not pro-life because I think woman shouldn't be able to do what they want with their bodies, I just believe that ending a human life is wrong unless it's necessary. Most prochoice people simply don't see it as a human life yet, and that's why they don't see it as a big deal. The problem is that we won't reach a compromise until people can actually have a civilized discussion about the issue. |
That's not a problem. This is a situation where there is no need and no room for compromise.
What human life is is up for debate. I see people in this thread suggesting that any human cell is human life, but that leads is an obvious oversimplification. Human cells die every second, and we allow all kinds of medical procedures that kill cells. You're allowed to kill your own cells in all kinds of ways, and you're even allowed to kill the cells of others in many circumstances.
The simple fact is that we don't have an answer. As a matter of practicality, we have to set some limitations. Certainly we have to protect the fetus once it is outside, with continuous brain activity, and subject to external threats. We also need to have some sort of restriction as to when a fetus can be aborted, because it obviously doesn't suddenly switch alive the moment it is born. But, the best we can do is lines in the sand. We're never going to have a magican moment when a ball a cells qualifies as a human. So, we leave the decisions in the gray area to the people directly involved in any case, particularly the woman who will be carrying the child.
It's not that I necessarily disagree with your opinion, think it's wrong, evil, or whatever. It's just that your opinion (or anybody else's) is absolutely irrelevant to any pregnancies that do not involve you, and should have no bearing on any legislation.