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Abortion, Civil Rights, Healthcare and other Social Issues Abortion, Civil Rights, Homosexuality, Education, Healthcare and other such issues

View Poll Results: Which position best describes your view of abortion and the law?
Abortion should be legal, without any specific restrictions. 19 20.43%
Abortion should be legal, but subject to some restriction(s). 50 53.76%
Abortion should be banned, but subject to exceptions. 10 10.75%
Abortion should be banned, with the sole exception of when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. 14 15.05%
Voters: 93. You may not vote on this poll

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  #436 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Otter Otter is offline
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Impugn View Post
Nice try.

The fact that eagles are endangered is irrelevant except for that it is the motivation for killing them being illegal, just as it is illegal to kill humans (however un-endangered we are).

Eagle eggs are eagles.

Human embryos are humans.

Period.

Yep...that's right...just as Gallagher pointed out, at breakfast, I'm eating "liquid chickens".
No, the *reason* we don't kill them is absolutely relevant. We used to shoot them, until they looked like there wouldn't be any, anymore. If for some reason they became superabundant, we would likely open a hunting season on them. We're unlikely to advocate that with humans, even with overpopulation.
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  #437 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Otter View Post
There is no inconsistency here; what is protected in a law against smashing eagle eggs is the viability of the species. It has nothing to do with the value of an individual life, except as that life furthers the existance of the species as a whole. The argument will only be valid the day humans are endangered.
Good point.
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  #438 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Impugn View Post
Nice try.

The fact that eagles are endangered is irrelevant except for that it is the motivation for killing them being illegal, just as it is illegal to kill humans (however un-endangered we are).

Eagle eggs are eagles.

Human embryos are humans.

Period.

Yep...that's right...just as Gallagher pointed out, at breakfast, I'm eating "liquid chickens".
Yea, and if we killed eagle eggs there would be no eagles. They are endangered. Eagle eggs MAKE eagles. Eggs are eggs. Nothing more. I don't believe they are the same. The reasons behind not killing them is completely relevant.
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  #439 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by AJG View Post
Yea, and if we killed eagle eggs there would be no eagles. They are endangered. Eagle eggs MAKE eagles. Eggs are eggs. Nothing more. I don't believe they are the same. The reasons behind not killing them is completely relevant.
Eagle eggs are eagles (qualifier: fertilized). Human embryos are humans.

Like I said, smash some eggs and use the "viability" argument. Good luck in jail.
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  #440 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Eagle eggs are eagles (qualifier: fertilized). Human embryos are humans.

Like I said, smash some eggs and use the "viability" argument. Good luck in jail.
Tell me what's wrong with the viability argument. I certainly don't belive eagle eggs are eagles until they are developped. Just a bunch of unfeeling and unknowning bunch of cells.
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Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Impugn View Post
I see very little point spelling out what I've cleared stated at least twice just a few clicks away for you.

But in the spirit of "No question is a dumb question" (which is a lie...don't believe it for a moment)...

A case for keeping abortion legal was made stating that since the fetus (at earlier stages) is not "viable" (i.e. you can't chuck a bottle of government subsidized formula at it and go back to watching Oprah) it is not [yet] a "human". Using the oldest trick in the book for any conflict, the attempt is made to - quite literally, in this case - dehumanize the subject in an attempt to promote a more cavalier and callous attitude towards it.

I reject the premise, outright. However, if it is reality, then, one should be able to reasonably and indiscriminately destroy American bald eagle eggs without fear of prosecution. After all, it should follow that the eggs are not eagles.

Why did I choose eagles? It's more cut-and-dried - they are "protected" just as humans are. It is illegal to kill one. Using "viability" standards, however, it should not be illegal to destroy one's eggs. The eggs are not eagles, or so they say.

That is it.
but you're assuming that the standard used with respect to protected animals should also apply to humans. Why?

Isn't it pretty absurd to assert that a zygote or embryo is a person? If a zygote is just as much a person as you or I then doesn't "person" become a term that merely denotes human species?
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  #442 (permalink)  
Old 08-31-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Impugn View Post
Eagle eggs are eagles (qualifier: fertilized). Human embryos are humans.

Like I said, smash some eggs and use the "viability" argument. Good luck in jail.
That woud be because the reason we don't smash eagle eggs has nothing to do with viability, or at what point they do or don't become eagles. You'd get in just as much trouble for bulldozing critical (protected) habitat, and that isn't even alive. That law is about the practical preservation of a species.

Eagle eggs are potential eagles, and human embryos are potential humans. Neither potential is realized at that stage, and we treat them quite differently. Good thing, too; the eggs of endangered birds are often taken from the nest and captive reared, so that the bird will lay and raise another clutch, thus doubling that years reproductive output. Imagine if we started doing that with humans!
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  #443 (permalink)  
Old 09-01-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Si modo View Post
My argument is quite rationale as I do not throw out fundamental issues to the debate simply because they are inconvenient to my argument. You do when you throw out viability. The question of viability is inconveninet to your argument. you toss it out. Not only is that irrational, it is lazy.
Actually, your argument is not. You are making a claim that you, obviously, can not support and simply repeating said claim ad nauseum is not going to make it true.

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Originally Posted by Si modo View Post
Now going to your references, you quote one of them with this excerpt: "... a zygote is a unicellular human being..." [emphasis mine].

If you wish to equate yourself with a unicellular organism, so be it. I think more highly of myself.
The fact that you seem to be intellectually unable to wrap your mind around the scientific fact is your own failing and has nothing to do with what is. People had a hard time wraping their minds around the fact that the earth is round and that the universe doesn't revolve around the earth as well when they were first introduced to information that ran contrary to what they believed.

As I have invited you before, do bring some credible science that substantiates your claim and then feel free to make it part of the discussion. By now, however, we both know tha

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Originally Posted by Si modo View Post
And, I think all of us will be fascinated when you provide links that do something other than tell us that a zygote belongs to the human species, as do skin cells, as do appendix cells, as do all non-viable parts of a woman's body, etc.
I already have. I can provide more, but apparently, it would make no difference as you seem to be unable to read what I have already posted but just so you can't claim that I was arguing over your head or something, lets go through this again for your benefit.

"Every time a sperm cell and ovum unite a new human being is created which is alive and will continue to live unless its death is brought about by some specific condition."E.L. Potter and J.M. Craig, PATHOLOGY OF THE FETUS AND THE INFANT, 3d ed. (Chicago: Year Book Medical Publishers, vii. [/color]

OK. Which part of "a new human being" is it that you believe is speaking merely to belonging to the human species. This states explicitly, and in no uncertain terms that unborns at any stage are living human beings.

"the proposition that an unborn child is a human being from conception is “supported by standard textbooks on embryology or human biology"T.W. SADLER, LANGMAN’S MEDICAL EMBRYOLOGY (John N. Gardner ed., 6th ed.)

Again, HUMAN BEING. Not simply a reference to belonging to the species, but A HUMAN BEING. This isn't rocket science si modo, you really should be able to think your way through this if you are going to argue the subject.

"Fertilization is an important landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human being is thereby formed... The zygote is a unicellular human being... Ronan R. O'Rahilly, Fabiola Muller, (New York: Wiley-Liss), 5, 55. EMBRYOLOGY & TERATOLOGY

Again, HUMAN BEING. This isn't vague language, or language that could be construed to mean something else. This says that unborns at any stage of development are human beings. Your suggestion that they aren't saying this is either terribly disenginuous or the result of a severe reading comprehnension problem. I won't hazzard a guess as to which.

"Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human beinga being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings." John C. Fletcher, Mark I. Evans, "Maternal Bonding in Early Fetal Ultrasound Examinations," New England Journal of Medicine, February 17, 1983.

Once more, I ask, how much more explicit could the language be? This isn't a suggestion of belonging to the species. This is a simple declarative statement saying that the child is a human being from the very beginning.

Now once again, I invite you to provide some credible science that suggests that we don't become human beings until we are viable. At such time as you can provide corroboration for said argument, we can make it part of the discussion. Till then, it is nothing more than your uneducated opinion and the hard science I have provided states, in no uncertain terms, that your opinion is flatly wrong and therefore doesn't belong in the discussion. Good luck to you.
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  #444 (permalink)  
Old 09-01-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by drgoodtrips View Post
If I get run over by someone in driving car, I'll feel better while dying to know that society as a group actually ran me over. I've no doubt that people killed in wars are also killed by society.
Accidentally being run over or deliberately? If it is an accident, then accidents happen. If one deliberately runs over you then that person is guilty of murder? Are you suggesting that being run over by a car deliberately is something that society does or the individual who did it?

Wars are actions sanctioned and taken by governments and killing within the rules of engagement do not fall under the same laws and interations between individuals within the borders of the country. The fact that you would attempt to equate them and then believe that somehow it changes what an unborn is brings the weakness of your argument into sharp relief.
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Old 09-01-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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What does an infant, a toddler, and a teenager all have in common? They all have brains. What's the difference between an egg and a baby a month developped? They don't have brains. What are you without a brain? A vegetable.

As with si modo, I do invite you to provide some credible science that states that we are not human beings until our brain has developed to some specified level.

I have provided credible materials that state explicitly that unborns, at any level of development are human beings. When you provide some equally credible material that says they are something other than human till a certain level of brain development we can make that part of the discussion. Till then, uneducated opinions that run contrary to hard science simply don't constitute rational, or valid arguments. Good luck to you in finding some credible materials that support your obviously wrong opinion.
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  #446 (permalink)  
Old 09-01-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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So let me ask you something. What's the difference between killing an unborn baby without a brain and killing a plant? One is a human? So what?
Are you familiar with our laws? You can't be charged for homicide if you kill a plant.

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Originally Posted by AJG View Post
Let me ask you something else. When a man dives off a cliff and instead of landing into the water below he hits his head on rock hidden under the water. He goes into a coma. He remains in a vegetative state for 4 years and the parents decide it's time to pull the plug. Why did they pull the plug? Because it made absolutely no sence keeping him alive if we were to remain in that state forever. Was there a reason to not pull the plug? Is a person who can't move, breathe, think, or feel any better than a plant? They are nothing and they deserve neither life nor death. Are they any use in the world? No, they bring nothing to no one.
You really haven't thought this out very well have you? A small bit of research on your part will yield decisions from the court that acknowledge a difference between letting one who is so sick or injured that no reasonable hope of recovery exists die and deliberate, and premeditated killing. No analogy that attempts to compare letting someone who is very sick or injured die and killing a perfectly healthy individual is valid.

The fact that you would attempt to compare actions taken against a perfectly healthy individual and actions taken on the behalf of one who is so injured that no reasonable hope of recovery exists highlights the inherent weakness of your argument.

By the way, you have a right to live, but you do not have a right to have extraordinary measures taken on your behalf or the right to bankrupt your family if there is no reasonable hope of your recovery.

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You could argue that they atleast got a chance to live and a dead fetus never got that chancce, but how about the many other eggs never fertilized? Did they ever get a chance to live? No, they were either flushed down a toilet or stopped by birth control pills.
This represents such a basic misunderstanding of developmental biology, that I am embarrassed for you that I need to answer it.

Eggs and sperm are simply cells that belong to men's and women's bodies. Any second year lab student could easily identify them as belonging to a particular person's body. As such, they are of no more consequence than toenail clippings. Once fertilization is complete, however, they are no longer part of a man's or woman's body. Sperm and egg no longer exist as such and what exists in their place is a new body. A new human being that has his or her own DNA which any second year lab student could easily identify as not belonging to either of its parent's bodies.
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  #447 (permalink)  
Old 09-01-2008
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Re: One last abortion poll (Now with more options!)

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Originally Posted by Pogo View Post
Your logic does indeed necessitate that you defend zygotes, which IMO is an untenable position that should be easy to poke holes in. How? Well, if it was me, I'd simply place before the judge or justices a zygote, on the one hand, and a grown adult on the other, and ask if it could really be said that there are no significant differences between these two "human beings".
One is certainly more mature than the other but both are equally human. The fact that you can't wrap your mind around the fact is your failing and has nothing to to with the biological realities.

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Originally Posted by Pogo View Post
When you claim that a zygote is every bit the human being that a child or adult is, I think you've reduced the significance of that distinction to such an extent that it becomes almost worthless, which IMO is a sound enough reason to reject such a narrow scientific classification from forming the basis of law re abortion.
It isn't my claim. I have presented ample credible science to support the fact. I do welcome you to provide some equally credible science to support your claim. It is obvious by now, however, that you can't and aren't ever going to because no such credible evidence exists. Arguing from your inability to understand the subject matter is always a bad plan.

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What you fail to acknowledge is that this narrow, scientific interpretation is irrelevant outside of the field of science. There is no reason to expect that those who are not scientists should have such a perspective.
I have provided credible science that states explicitly that unborns at any stage of development are living human beings.

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Originally Posted by Pogo View Post
Now, if you want to say that a zygote is human, rather than a human being, I'd say that that is a much more honest classification that should have some relevance in civil society, but to say that it's a human being, outside of the scientific context that finds utility for such a classification, is really quite absurd, and demonstrably so.
Again. The materials that I provided are credible science and they say HUMAN BEING. Do feel free to provide some equally credible material that says that they are something else.

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And just as we concluded our last go-round on this issue, it comes down to whom the framers considered to be entitled to the rights espoused in the constitution, and we know for a fact that neither blacks nor women were considered to be the equal of the white, male framers, which doesn't bode well for your position, I'm afraid -- unless the conservative justices decide to become the judicial activists they so frequently bemoan, which won't surprise me at all.
The framers said that we come into being with certian rights. Simple as that.
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Old 09-01-2008
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