General > Political and Religious
"Right to Privacy" Abortion Analogy
lordxizor:
--- Quote from: Omega on April 19, 2012, 01:53:35 PM ---One of the most common arguments for abortion is that a woman has a "right to privacy" or "right to body."
Here's an analogy I thought of:
Bill and Adam are sitting on the edge of a cliff. Bill suddenly starts to fall, so he puts his hand on Adam's shoulder to balance himself. Adam was in no danger of falling. However, Adam didn't allow Bill to have the privilege of touching him, so he pushed Bill's hand off of him, knowing full well that it would result in Bill's death. Adam allowed Bill to die, simply because he didn't want Bill to have access to his body. Does Adam sound like a decent man?
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An imprefect analagy since Adam had nothing to do with Bill grabbing him. In the abortion scenario, the mother has made a choice to perform an act that could result in pregnancy (other than in instances of rape of course) thus it might be a better analagy for Adam to invite Bill to grab on and then later push him off. Not perfect either, but closer.
Edit: And really Adam would have had to invite Bill to sit on the edge of the cliff with him too to make it a better analagy (the baby wouldn't be there to abort if the mother hadn't made a conscious choice to have sex, other than rape again of course).
Sigz:
All of these analogies people try to use for abortion are horribly contrived and do nothing to adequately convey the physical relationship between a mother and zygote/embryo/fetus or the state of both things involved.
Omega:
--- Quote from: lordxizor on April 19, 2012, 02:13:59 PM ---An imperfect analogy since Adam had nothing to do with Bill grabbing him. In the abortion scenario, the mother has made a choice to perform an act that could result in pregnancy (other than in instances of rape of course) thus it might be a better analogy for Adam to invite Bill to grab on and then later push him off. Not perfect either, but closer.
Edit: And really Adam would have had to invite Bill to sit on the edge of the cliff with him too to make it a better analogy (the baby wouldn't be there to abort if the mother hadn't made a conscious choice to have sex, other than rape again of course).
--- End quote ---
I have to agree. The analogy is too mildly formulated.
rumborak:
--- Quote from: the Catfishman on April 19, 2012, 02:04:47 PM ---That would work if Bill was a lump of cells.
(or in other words.. I think most of the discussion is whether/when you considerer a lump of cells 'life').
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This, yeah. This all comes down to at which point a "human" starts. There's essentially two schools of thought: The "Substancist" who says a human life starts when the first substance to it is there (i.e. a fertilized egg), and the "Symptomist" who says a human life starts when it becomes human, i.e. when it starts exhibiting the things that makes humans human. I find myself in the latter camp.
rumborak
Omega:
--- Quote from: rumborak on April 19, 2012, 02:51:01 PM ---the "Symptomist" who says a human life starts when it becomes human, i.e. when it starts exhibiting the things that makes humans human. I find myself in the latter camp.
rumborak
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Besides it being a tautology (when a human is human) isn't that rather arbitrary and subjective? Couldn't some people have different opinions on when a fertilized egg is considered "human" or when it begins to exhibit "human" characteristics?
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