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3/14/2013 7:27:31 PM
25
Richard Dawkins on Abortion
[url=https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins]From his personal twitter account:[/url]
[quote]With respect to those meanings of "human" that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig[/quote]
[quote]"Human" features relevant to the morality of abortion include ability to feel pain, fear etc & to be mourned by others[/quote]
[quote]"I dare you to say that to a broken hearted woman who has miscarried." She would not have an abortion anyway, so irrelevant.[/quote]
[quote]Yes, anything can be mourned. If you are going to mourn your fetus, you are free to not have an abortion[/quote]
[quote]Of course potential to be human is among fetus' qualities. But my pig comparison was careful to specify "relevant to morality of abortion."[/quote]
[quote]"Genetically a fetus is more human." Yes. Another reason my pig comparison was careful to specify "relevant to morality of abortion."[/quote]
[quote]My criterion for "relevant to morality of abortion" is standard consequentialist morality. Opponents follow absolutist morality. Simple.[/quote]
[quote]"Parent might mourn daughter's fetus, even if she herself doesn't — relevant to the morality?" Yes, but daughter paramount. It's her body.[/quote]
[quote]"Right but that doesnt mean fetus gets zero weight." I never said it did. I said less weight than a pig. I hope that is not zero?[/quote]
[quote]The most important moral question in abortion debate is "Can it feel pain?" Late abortuses may, but you don't have to be human to feel pain[/quote]
[quote]Unlike many pro-choice friends, I think fetal pain could outweigh woman's right to control her own body. But pig pain matters too.[/quote]
[quote]Everything I've said in this argument assumes consequentialist moral philosophy. If you're an absolutist you obviously won't agree. Simple.[/quote]
[quote]"I know several broken-hearted (pro-choice) women following abortion." I sympathise. They balanced all, brought all to mind. And chose.[/quote]
[quote]Woman's rights over her own body are extremely important. So is pain. At what age can fetus feel pain? Can pig feel more?[/quote]
[quote]Pig doesn't have human DNA, human potential or human IQ. It probably does have human capacity to feel pain. Aborted fetus probably doesn't[/quote]
[quote]My hair and fingernails are human but don't feel pain when I cut them. Embryo before brain develops doesn't feel pain. Late fetus? Pig?[/quote]
tl;dr He's pro-choice
Thoughts on his tweets? Spot on or completely immoral?
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2 RepliesEdited by Obi Wan Stevobi: 3/15/2013 1:34:57 PMI watched people go nuts over those tweets. I think most people failed to grasp the point he was making with the pig. Basically, he is saying that abortion is immoral if the fetus feels pain. That is saying he disagrees with late term abortion, and that was meant as a counter argument to those that say a fetus is not human until birth, so abortion should be legal until that point. He's saying that a pig is not human either, but if it feels pain, it shouldn't be subjected to it. He's pro-choice, but doesn't agree with abortions after the fetus has developed enough to feel pain. That managed to piss everyone off. Saying a fetus can feel pain at some point made pro-choice people rage, and comparing a fetus to a pig made pro-life people rage, seemingly missing the point that he was making their case in a way that would make sense to non-religious types that don't buy the soul at conception argument.
