The real issue is whether or not we are aborting humans. We are aborting "potential humans" for sure, but there is a huge difference. If the fetus is not a human, then there is no great difference between abortion and surgery that removes a part of the body.
How do we know whether the fetus is a human being or not? To me and I think many it comes down to a religious or metaphysical question. I think for Wrangor and most Christians it would come down to whether or not the fetus has a soul. There are very logical religious arguments on both sides as to when a soul inhabits the fetus. To me the soundest argument against a soul being present at conception is that it cheapens the value of a soul as many spontaneous abortions occur naturally. To consider each of this as a lost soul would seem to be very inefficient and cheapen the soul in God's eyes. That would also bring up the question of whether God implants a dozen souls in petri dishes with artificial insemination. If you take the view that there is not necessarily a soul at conception, then that soul would have to enter the fetus at some point. It would appear obvious that we do not have conclusive evidence when the soul enters a fetus (if you believe in the concept of a soul), therefore it becomes a matter of belief or faith. I do not think we should make legislation on the basis of faith.
For you guys that are not believers in a deity or a soul, there still has to be some determinant as to what constitutes human life. Hopefully it is not just as simplistic as whether or not the baby has been born and thus sanctioned by the government as a human being.
I am done rambling. My personal view is that I do not know when a fetus becomes human and I would prefer to err on the side of caution and would make every attempt to avoid an abortion, but that is a personal decision. I do not think the government should be in the business of making decisions based on religious beliefs.
How do we know whether the fetus is a human being or not? To me and I think many it comes down to a religious or metaphysical question. I think for Wrangor and most Christians it would come down to whether or not the fetus has a soul. There are very logical religious arguments on both sides as to when a soul inhabits the fetus. To me the soundest argument against a soul being present at conception is that it cheapens the value of a soul as many spontaneous abortions occur naturally. To consider each of this as a lost soul would seem to be very inefficient and cheapen the soul in God's eyes. That would also bring up the question of whether God implants a dozen souls in petri dishes with artificial insemination. If you take the view that there is not necessarily a soul at conception, then that soul would have to enter the fetus at some point. It would appear obvious that we do not have conclusive evidence when the soul enters a fetus (if you believe in the concept of a soul), therefore it becomes a matter of belief or faith. I do not think we should make legislation on the basis of faith.
For you guys that are not believers in a deity or a soul, there still has to be some determinant as to what constitutes human life. Hopefully it is not just as simplistic as whether or not the baby has been born and thus sanctioned by the government as a human being.
I am done rambling. My personal view is that I do not know when a fetus becomes human and I would prefer to err on the side of caution and would make every attempt to avoid an abortion, but that is a personal decision. I do not think the government should be in the business of making decisions based on religious beliefs.