Philosophy Now Forum

"They are held to account by the law, henry." Yes. Why? Because they killed innocents. If what a pregnant woman carries a person, surely that person is innocent. As I say: in the absence of an answer as to when meat in the womb becomes a person, it's wise to err safely and assume a woman carries a p...

"A fetus or embryo is not a person. It may grow into a person, dog, cat, pig, etc. It knows nothing of "belonging to itself". It subsists as a piece of meat in process of developing into what it was meant to be. Nothing more than that!" I'm a healthy 56 year old man. I'm aware of myself, my surround...

"Some people think that God wants them to kill innocent people on the streets or in churches."

What generally happens to folks who do such things (kill innocents)?

"It's what she thinks that is important, not what you think. She will have to live with the consequences long after you have forgotten about it." And if she decides her elderly ma is inconvenient (what with the bed pans and feedings and medicines) and decides ma needs to go to sleep forever, well, "...

If she's disposing of 'meat' I'm happy and relieved to leave her to it.

But if she's killing a person?

"I would feel very uncomfortable about compelling a woman, who does not want to give birth to a child, to see it through."

Me too. I'm equally uncomfortable with a baby gettin' killed cuz mom doesn't want it.

How does one balance between the two?

work in progress, i guess

"The dead, and the yet to be born, have no attributes, including a soul."

The dead, sure; the unborn, I don't know...seems to me, the unborn have at least two attributes: 'being alive' and 'being human'...mebbe 'being ensouled' is in there too.

"Arrogant little tosspot"

simple-minded tart

"If we can do it, that's fine. But I suspect we can't do it, or can't do it long, or can't do it forever. So at some point, our sovereignty is going to have to be secured by more than force of our personal wills." In this world: what other choice do you and me and the like-minded have but to assert ...

"Now we don't know what we can use to get "rights" for people, except ride the tradition as long as people don't question too hard." Sure we (you and me) do. We know exactly what's neccessary to secure (and keep secure) individual sovereignty (and it ain't got nuthin' to do with the ballot box or vo...

Thailand: disabled dog rescues baby buried alive by teenage mother Why has this teenage mother found it necessary to bury her baby alive?

Without details: any comment is just guesswork.

"Learn to use the quote function"

I know how, but I prefer my method.

"I don't know, but I personally think there is a period at the beginning of pregnancy when it is not appropriate to say the foetus has rights. The moral validity of that belief can never be anything other than a matter of opinion." I don't know either: no one does. But the question demands an answer...

"It is called a foetus."

Sure, but is it a person?

"It depends on whether or not the lawmakers in your society have become convinced that "rights" are a real and unalienable thing, and whether or not they take seriously their duty to enforce them." Sure. I ain't holdin' my breath on that ever happenin'. Consider: most of the world lives under, is bu...