Around the time we learn to avoid mixing plural and singular forms in a simple sentence.
e pluribus unum
I’m really bummed by the absolute sureness expressed by so many on this issue. Am I the only one bothered by the inability of science to answer ethical/moral questions, such as, when does human life begin, and the subsequent rush to utilize scientific achievements merely because we can? Some are absolutely positive that a fetus isn’t deserving of any separate right to life. Those who fall in this category range anywhere from point of conception to those who even accept partial birth abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy. On the other side are those who are equally absolutely positive that a fetus is always deserving of a right to life separate from that of the mother. Both sides can’t be right. I’m troubled enough by this dilemna and its lack of conclusion by serious, deliberate debate. We plain don’t know. I can’t prove it. You can’t prove it. Why don’t we err on the side of caution?This is a major design flaw in humans, it seems. Inability to control sexual drive leading to large scale destruction of pre-term young. Very sad.
Philosophocles, I’m not sure if you jest, or not here. If we humans consider ourselves higher on the evolutionary ladder than say, that chicken destined for KFC, which I would think we can take as given, it becomes more important to discuss humanity at a genetic level. We’re now at the point where we can begin cannibalizing our pre-term young (i.e., embryonic stem cells) for our use. Babies are already being conceived to provide life-saving treatment for another child. In parts of the world, selective abortions are being performed because the baby is the wrong “something”. Wrong sex, wrong genetic markers, etc. How long before cloned humans exist? How long before a fetus can be ‘harvested’ for its organs? Shouldn’t we as a society talk about and arrive at some common stance while we can?