Philosophical Abortion Facts

 

Some facts about abortion. These are objective, rational, demonstrable facts, no partisanship and no need for disagreement. True fact! Check it out. (AND, if I have any of my facts wrong - especially on the legal side of things, feel free to correct me... with facts, not opinions.)

1. People who support keeping the medical procedure of abortion legal (henceforth called "Abortion supporters") do not hate babies or fetuses (at least in most cases).

 

2. Abortion supporters do not want to see fetuses "murdered." Nor do we support "murder."

 

3. People who would like to outlaw abortion (henceforth called "abortion opponents") don't want to kill moms and don't hate women (at least in most cases).

 

4. A human fetus IS a human fetus. 100%.  It's literally a human fetus.

 

5. Abortion supporters acknowledge that, of course, a human fetus is a human fetus.

...Ready?

The questions, then, are
5a. Is a human fetus deserving of human rights in every possible sense?
5b. Do we objectively, factually know?
5c. Does the law say?

5d. Does "God" (Allah? Buddha? The Bible? The Koran?) say?
5e. Does reason insist?

6. Humans have different rights depending on the stage of their life. True fact!

 

7. Human five year olds do NOT have a right to drive a car. Human 16 year olds (in most places?) DO have a right to drive a car.
 

8. A one year old does not have a "right" to take care of himself or live on his own. An 18 year old DOES have those rights.
 

9. So, does a fetus have full human rights legally speaking? Nope. Nor does a one year old, nor does a 13 year old. Different ages/stages, different rights. That is, by "Full human rights," I mean, does a fetus, one year old, six year old, 14 year old, etc have all the rights of an adult human? I'm pretty sure the legal answer to this is a clear No.

According to Encyclopia.com:

"Historically, under both English common law and U.S. law, the fetus has not been recognized as a person with full rights. Instead, legal rights have centered on the mother, with the fetus treated as a part of her. Nevertheless, U.S. law has in certain instances granted the fetus limited rights, particularly as medical science has made it increasingly possible to directly view, monitor, diagnose, and treat the fetus as a patient."

Again - the legal part of this is where I'm least clear. I am glad to be corrected.

10. Okay, but what about the basic "right to life..."? Even a one year old has that, right? But does a fetus? Does a fetus at 2 weeks old have that right? At 20 weeks old?

This is the big question. It all boils down to the answer to that question. And the answer:

11. We do not know. No one can objectively prove, one way of the other, in an authoritative, factual manner, "YES, the 2 week old fetus has an innate right to life." OR "No, the 2 week year old fetus does NOT have an innate right to life."

12. Now, legally, this may be dependent on where you live. Different states and different nations may establish laws one way or the other, but here's the thing:

The lawmakers in these various states can not prove it objectively, authoritatively one way or the other. This is a fundamentally unprovable opinion, one way or the other.

You see, it's a simple matter to objectively answer: Is this a human fetus or is it not? That is demonstrable and objectively provable. But, "Does a 2 week old fetus have an innate right to life? What about a 20 week old fetus?"... we just have no way of authoritatively, objectively answering that question. That's a fact.

Has the law ever authoritatively answered this question? I don't think so.
Has science ever proven an innate right to life beginning at conception? No. It hasn't. It factually hasn't.
Has GOD or Allah or any omnipotent, omniscient being EVER handed us an authoritative answer to this question?

No.

Indeed, biblically speaking, the rights of a fetus are more like property rights of the parent than human rights... In Exodus 21, it states that "if a man causes a woman to have a miscarriage, he shall be fined; however, if the woman dies then he will be put to death." Thereby, treating the two lives - the fetal life and the mother's life - differently.

And the passages that abortion opponents often cite are ones like this: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” which literally does not say authoritatively that the 2 week old (or 20 week old) fetus has a right to life. It's literally not there. People who READ INTO that passage that "right" are reading into the text something that is not there.

No. The Bible does not state anywhere that fetuses have an innate right to life. Just factually speaking. God has not told us this. I won't speak to what other sacred texts may or may not say, as I'm not familiar with them.

13. Here's the thing: EVEN IF you are part of a religious group that believes or even has a sacred text that says, "Thus sayeth the Holy Cow: The fetus of Two Weeks doth truly have an innate right to life..." that is not anything like objective proof. It is a religious belief of that particular group, but not a universal rule authoritatively proving the question. Christians would not accept it as a fact if that came from the Book of the Heavenly Cow because they do not ascribe to that sacred text. Other people are not obliged to agree with Christians on what they think God thinks on the question (and as a reminder: God has NOT said in the Bible that the fetus has an innate right to life. Just a fact.)

...and SO, given all these facts, I think it is helpful to remember that abortion supporters are not even necessarily "abortion supporters" (although many of us are fine with it as a medical treatment): Abortion supporters, by and large, are just recognizing that this question is not a proven or provable question, as to whether a fetus has a right to life and at what point that right kicks in... AND SINCE it's not proven or provable, we simply want this philosophical and medical matter to be left to the woman with the fetus. Not a Supreme Court. Not a Congress of predominantly men. And not even a Congress of predominantly women, if we had one.

The woman.

And NOT because we support "murder." Not because we hate fetuses or children. Those are all false claims. Stupidly false claims.

No. We simply respect the reality that since we can't prove this question one way or the other, the decision is best left to the mother.

If you want to argue against keeping abortion legal, please begin from the place of acknowledging these facts. Stop with the demonizations. Stop with the presumption that you have an authoritative answer or that you are speaking for God (or Allah or the Holy Cow).

Please.

It's just not something any of us have an objective answer for and no one is authoritatively, objectively speaking for God.

True fact.