Comments on: Pro-life materialists

By: Challenger Grim

Challenger Grim — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:40:34 +0000

Curiosity question.

Wouldn’t a completely materialistic view also be against abortion because it violates natural selection and hurts our fitness as a species?

By: Chigliakus

Chigliakus — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:08:36 +0000

Every pro-lifer I’ve ever spoken with has also been pro death penalty, which always seemed like a contradiction in values to me. I also never really understood the motivations behind the pro-life movement. I mean I can understand wanting the believers to have more children – you’re breeding more easily-indoctrinated people to join your ranks. But why prevent non-believers from having an abortion? From a pragmatic view point it’s advantageous to let the heathen’s ranks diminish while yours swell.

My mother, who is a Christian, used to refer to the bad old days before Roe vs. Wade as the reason she was pro-choice. I didn’t really understand what she meant until I read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Organizations/S/Supreme%20Court
This debate is more complicated than a simple argument for the rights of a non-sentient clump of cells that happen to contain human DNA. And speaking of human rights, these same pro-lifers all seem to turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses that take place daily across the country in the US penitentiary system.

By: Nevyn

Nevyn — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:53:33 +0000

I was under the impression that the anti-choice folks still believe in “ensoulment” at conception and that’s what makes them persons. One other thing; I’d say that “Abortion is never a good thing” is half right. It’s neither a good thing or a bad thing. If a zygote isn’t a moral agent (or a moral patient for that matter) terminating it seems like it would be neither good nor bad.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:51:33 +0000

Abortion is a good thing. It’s only because that the circumstances which lead to wanting an abortion are a bad thing (ie. unwanted pregnancy) that it would be great if abortions weren’t wanted any more. Open heart surgery is also a good thing; it would be great to live in a world where everyone had healthy hearts, but that’s never going to be the case.

Your main point is well-made. Humans are not zygotes.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:10:36 +0000

Since practically every cell in my body has a copy of my DNA, except for the those little swimmers down there, every time I sneeze I massacre a whole host of persons.