Abortion

Showing only those parts of the discussion which lead to #212.

See full discussion instead
  Log in or sign up to participate in this discussion.
With an account, you can revise, criticize, and comment on ideas.

Discussions can branch out indefinitely. Zoom out for the bird’s-eye view.
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar
Dennis HackethalOP revised about 1 year ago·#299· Collapse
3rd of 3 versions leading to #212

I’m pro abortion but I have some pro life in me.

Banning the abortion of a zygote seems ridiculous. So does aborting a seven-month-old fetus.

Why not go with: you can abort until the nervous system develops.

Clearly, an embryo without a nervous system can’t be sentient and thus can’t be a person, right? And as long as it’s not a person, it doesn’t have any rights.

According to https://www.neurosciencefoundation.org/post/brain-development-in-fetus, “an embryo’s brain and nervous system begin to develop at around the 6-week mark.” And: “At as early as 8 weeks (about 2 months), you can see physical evidence of the brain working (the electric impulses) as ultrasounds show the embryo moving.”

This idea is for viable pregnancies only. Other considerations may apply for non-viable ones.

Dennis Hackethal’s avatar
Dennis HackethalOP, about 1 year ago·#205· Collapse

If my nervous system isn’t working because of coma, is it ok to kill me?

Clarity is suggesting it wouldn’t be okay, thus whether the nervous system is functional can’t be the determining factor.

Criticism of #299Criticized1oustanding criticism
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar
Dennis HackethalOP revised about 1 year ago·#208· Collapse

I think it’s not okay to kill someone whose nervous system stops working later in life if it may work again.
They’ve already been a person and may well continue to be a person. That can’t be said of an organism that has never had a nervous system.

Criticism of #205
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar
Dennis HackethalOP, about 1 year ago·#211· Collapse

It’s arbitrary. A functioning nervous system does not imply complex thought.

Criticism of #208Criticized1oustanding criticism
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar
Dennis HackethalOP, about 1 year ago·#212· Collapse

Right, but the absence of a functioning nervous system implies the absence of sentience [see #107]. So I don’t think it’s arbitrary.

Criticism of #211