Subject:
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Re: Abortion, consistent with the LP stance? (Re: From Harry Browne
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 10 Nov 2000 23:04:29 GMT
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Reply-To:
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johnneal@%saynotospam%uswest.net
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Viewed:
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757 times
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Frank Filz wrote:
> John Neal wrote:
>
> I know Larry has called for sitting out this one, but I've got an
> interesting comment here...
>
> One does have to be a bit carefull about protecting the "potential" of
> human life. I read a short story once which took this idea to an
> extreme. In the society depicted in the short story, it was illegal to
> use contraceptives because they denied the egg and sperm the potential
> of creating life
Yes, this can get a little crazy. When I say potential, I mean the potential of an
*already* fertilized egg which has a specific genetic code in place. I think I can
safely argue the potentiality of a fertilized egg without having to consider the
potentiality of all of the *un*fertilized eggs and sperm. The potential argument is
useful when people start talking about "non sentient tissue structures", because a
fetus is more than that, and its potential is the reason.
That is why I mentioned the IUD, which was a birth control method which allowed eggs
to be fertilized, but prevented them from lodging into the uterine wall.
> (never mind that it was known that a pregnancy would
> probably kill the woman). In fact, I want to say that I remember that
> the society was even moving towards a state where not having sex at all
> was considered a denial of the potential.
>
> Now that would seem to be a ridiculous extreme (though I'm not
> absolutely sure that such hasn't been called for, certainly there are
> religions which preach that use of contraceptives is to deny god's
> will). I think it is interesting to examine extreme cases though.
Yes, and in my mind the case of pregnancy as a result of rape is definitely a
litmus. I am queasy about forcing a woman to carry to term a child conceived under
these conditions. In those cases, I guess I would advocate the taking of the
"morning after" pill after the assault and never even test whether there was a
pregnancy or not.
> Sometimes the extreme case will show out the flaw in an argument (this
> particular short story certainly showed out that if one bought those
> arguments, then one accepted that the potential of future life was more
> important than the potential of existing life, one needs to then ask if
> that is what one really intends).
Agreed.
-John
>
>
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