Election 2004: The 5MV District

[Gatac]

In what sense are you using the word "alive"? Biologically, no one questions that a fetus is alive by that point. For example, its heart is beating within the first three weeks, let alone months

Warning: We are approaching the border of the (very) long and tedious sentience/sapience/consciousness discussion. I will follow and argue even that point, I just want to point out that I tend to leave this fuzzy for a good reason.

The morning after pill acts within the very, very brief interval where there is some question whether the fetus is alive, so that's a more complicated case. Nonetheless, a lot of pro-lifers do consider it morally equivalent to abortion.

As do I, actually - let us not mince terms here. Prevention is before conception, abortion is after. The moral value of each of those is up for discussion, though, as are the various methods.

On a pickier note, I think "pregnancy controls" is a very misleading term for either abortion or the morning after pill. They don't control pregnancy, they end it; one might as well be honest about that.

This is one of my favourite bones to pick with what is commonly labelled as "liberal", the doublespeak. I hate political correctness with a passion, and getting the PC-minded furious through rigorous usage of non-PC terms is my favourite pasttime.

This is one of the pro-choice arguments that's hardest to dispute -- if you do, it sounds like you're saying what happened to these women is okay. Obviously I don't feel that way, but I also don't think it's sufficient justification. If you try to rob a bank, you may be shot in the attempt. That doesn't mean robbing banks should be legal.

This is one of those false dilemma logic fallacies I (occasionally) also submit to: it's always either "ban all abortion!" or "allow all abortion!". True, it's easier to argue each way, and the law is not known for being overly flexible and useful when it has to nail down details, but there's shades of grey.

Gatac