Since Taskiss asked for it:
Its necessary to establish a framework and points of commonality.
We agree in principle that killing a person without just cause is wrong.
We agree in principle that killing a person in self defense can be morally justified.
We agree in principle that a non-person's life's value is something less than a person's life to varying degrees. (We kill germs without a second thought, we kill insects when they annoy us, we kill 'lower mammals' for sport, we kill cows for food, we euthanize dogs, horses and cats or other domesticated animals when we cannot financially support them.
Can we at least agree on this much?
I don't know your personal stance on turning off life support, but to continue the above argument, turning off life support is something a family member may do when a former person is no longer capable of making that decision. (persistent vegetative state, etc) So somewhere along the way most people agree in principle that it isn't DNA, it isn't Heartbeat, it isn't reflex that makes a person a person.
As a side note I've been dealing with a lot of death the last 3 months, having had to say good-bye to 2 grandparents and a dog.
This isn't some academic debate for me, this is a practical view of how I've had to deal with life and death. In my grandmother's case we agreed she would not want to be on life support and the decision was made collectively to turn off the machines. In theory she could have clung to life for several more years on the machines, but it would not have been her.
My opinion on abortion is based on my definition of personhood.
For me what makes a person is based on sapience; the capacity for independent thought, self-awareness, a personality defined by the sum total of the individual's experiences, memories, genetics. (Nature+Nuture put another way)
A human life is more than a collection of their cells. It isnt the fact that I have a heartbeat + Human DNA.
Put another way: What makes humans unique from other species? (lets not delve into great apes, dolphins, or any other species that has self-awareness for the moment) Why are they the only ones we have this concern for?
In my view a fetus does not pass the test for personhood. Its as simple as that. It has no self awareness. It is merely a collection of cells following its dna-encoded programming. As it matures it develops insticts, a more complicated program but a program the same. (just as an Ant reacts to stimuli)
Because it fails the personhood test it must therefore fall somewhere south of the value of a full person.
NOW: you may not *LIKE* my definition, you may not agree with my definition, but its not hypocritical; its consistent.
The problem with the debate you want to have is that we don't agree on your basic premise. (that a fetus is a person)
The fact that we don't agree on this basic point means there will probably never be any consensus.
This is why I reject your attempts to claim some basic inconsistency in my logic. My 'higher goal' is to protect 'persons' A fetus does not meet the qualification, so becomes a lesser priority when weighed against other concerns.
Example: I'm against the death penalty for any number of reasons,(cost of incarceration/appeals on death row vs life in prison, the number of people eventually exonerated, inconsistent sentencing) but not the least of which is the immorality of killing persons when other alternatives exist. I am pro-doctor assisted suicide because a person has the right to self determination.
On the list of 'evils' I wish the gov't to combat, higher on the list of priorities is the number of persons killed each year by firearms and/or violence.
On one hand, lots of persons being killed, on the other, no persons being killed. Seems simple calculus here.
I submit then, that if you start with the same basic premise that I have, you would easily reach the same conclusions and positions I do.
You, on the other hand, start with a different basic premise. and I will freely admit that with that basic premise one could easily reach the conclusion that abortion is an evil.
Anti-abortion advocates are not evil as a group. But there is certainly a subset that are. (The "Pregnancy Crisis Centers" that masquerade as health facilities, emotionally manipulate women, even lie to them or trick them for example)
Now, if you would like to discuss ways of reducing abortions, lets talk about federally funded birth control. Lets talk sex education and the abolition of abstinence only sex-ed courses.
Abstinence only sex-ed courses are proven to be utterly ineffective at reducing teen pregnancy (
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... ort-argues ,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194801/)
On the other hand, making abortions illegal doesn't do much to reduce abortions, it simply means women get unsafe abortions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... 709326/#B4