well ksuw seemed to take issue with the "suddenness" of birth as a defining period of time to become a human being. idk how you can determine a time if it isn't sudden. at some point you're not human and then at some point you are human.
Right! That's always been my problem from a philosophical standpoint with abortion. That point in time is super gray, and whatever point we pick is going to seem pretty arbitrary.
Defining that point in time is very important. Because one second before that point in time, the thing is a clump of cells worthy of nothing. No different than a snot rag. If it's not a human, I have no reason to care about it. Let it grow, let it not grow, abort it, name it,
I do not care. At this second, abortion is completely, 100% morally neutral.
THEN, one second later, we've crossed the event horizon. One second later -- whether it's at birth, or past the first trimester, or after the umbilical cord is cut or whenever -- one second after that line, the thing is a human being, worthy of
all the moral concern that any other human being has. When we've reached that point, all of a sudden this thing becomes very important. At this point, abortion isn't a morally neutral thing anymore, but instead, it's killing a human being.
On one side of the line, no big deal -- Throw the clump of cells away like you would a used kleenax. Then, an instant later, you're committing one of the most morally repugnant acts a human can commit.
Awful lot of gray area for such a morally risky move.
