dk

I sumbit abortion is unreasonable because it is impossible for anyone to evaluate the life altering consequences. Therefore, abortion is immoral because it wantonly destroys that which can't be understood.

babelfish

It might be impossible to evaluate the exact consequences of carrying your pregnancy to term, but based upon what you have seen and experienced in the past, you could make a pretty good guess.

NialScorva

No, I'm not changing the subject, unless disagreement is changing the subject. I'm pointing out that the first premise is not necessary to make the second, it's your generalization of the argument. You're arguing completely against the first statement as a general rule, acting as if by refuting your own generalization you can refute the second statement. I provided an alternate interpretation of the second statement, and left you with your straw man of the first.

Reread this thread, it's *completely* about the first statement, with the implicit assumption that the second is equally invalid because it's a specialization of the first. I'm providing an alternate path to get to the second statement that doesn't invoke the first.

I contend that this is a strawman because you provided the first statement, it's not a typical introductory statement in abortion debates. As you say in the thread title, it's a lousy parody of a pro-life argument.

I'm just playing the straight man in this parody, I guess.

dk

A pretty good guess? Exactly how does anyone go about evaluating the impact of parenthood upon thier own life, much less the impact to future generations?

Valmorian

The same way you evaluate any decision that would potentially impact your life. You make a (hopefully) informed guess.

That we aren't omniscient is hardly an argument against decisions. People have to make tough decisions every day.. the fact that they don't know with 100% accuracy what the outcomes will be doesn't mean they shouldn't make the decisions.

Happy Wonderer

Of course, the same thing could be said of chemotherapy?

HW

babelfish

I was a pretty devout Roman Catholic when abortion was legalized. I remember hearing all the anecdotes, especially about pregnant mothers who had life-threatening illnesses but decided (usually against their doctors' wishes) to continue their pregnancies, or young women who decided to keep their babies and whose families rallied around them in their time need. I suspect those sorts of stories are what you are thinking about when you ask these questions.

I think that hearing about these sorts of cases can really tug at your heart strings. You end up thinking "why doesn't every pregnant woman just accept her fate and either keep her baby, trusting that everything will work out, or give it to a family that can raise it?"

In my opinion, if a woman wishes to make this choice, it is up to her. But it is meaningless if there is no "choice" involved at all, if the individual is compelled to make a certain decision rather than choosing it.

[ May 30, 2002: Message edited by: babelfish ]</p>