Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Ensign Steve · 03-07-2003, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Totalitarianist
I think it is ethical for three reasons: for the good of the individual, who no longer has to live with his most undesirable condition, and who, in the case of the mental retard, is not aware of his own existence, or at best the existence of other minds; for the good of the parent, who himself would think it a tragedy that he is impelled to possess such a sad and wretched thing; and for the good of the human stock.

This is so offensive. Who gets to pick the criteria of what is a defect? I am a homosexual. If my parents had known that at the time of my birth, they would not have changed anything, but that's just my parents. Who's to say how many parents would exterminate their infant if they knew it would be a homosexual, for "their own good"?

My first cousin is mentally retarded. He is quite aware of his own mind and the minds around him. He loves others and is loved by others. His life is no less valuable than yours or mine.

To say that any individual is "defective" for any reason is elitist and bigotted.

Ensign Steve · 03-07-2003, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Totalitarianist: In fact, female infants are the best candidates: being female, they are likely to multiply, and multiplication is the sole cause of the problem;
Monkeybot: What are you talking about? It's far easier for a man to father multiple children than it is for a woman to give birth to multiple babies. Think about resource investment.

Unless you think Chinese females simply engage in binary fission...

Duh! The actual reason male children are more desirable than female children is that in Chinese tradition, especially in rural areas, married couples live in the home of the husband. So if a couple wanted adults to be around and help take care of them when they grow old, they'd best have a son. However that didn't work very well when there weren't enough females for those men to marry.

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