This implies a false choice, namely abortion is either totally great, if fetuses have no neural function, or it is so wrong it is akin to murder and should be banned.Gnosis wrote: ↑November 10th, 2019, 7:47 pmI think this discussion is nested in a deeper discussion of what is consciousness, what is life, is it okay to needlessly destroy a conscious being, does a fetus have consciousness or not? I think that if we were clear on what consciousness is and when it begins then we wouldn't have an issue with abortion, since murder is not the killing of a bundle of cells but the killing of a conscious being. If a fetus does not have a consciousness or if consciousness is nothing unique in itself but is only an arrangement of atoms then there should be no problem with abortion, but that would bring further problems, why would murder of a newborn or adult be wrong then? If on the other hand there was a unique consciousness in us, something akin to the soul, and a fetus has that consciousness then what right do we have to kill it? As I said this question is embedded in a much deeper question of what is it that makes us human, what is it that makes human life valuable. I think it is consciousness and I have a clear idea of what that is and when it begins, as do most other pro-lifers, I think it is really the pro-choice people who have no idea what makes human life valuable and causing all the confusion.
The reality is closer to a third choice between the other two, abortion is a mild negative since fetuses have a very limited neural capacity, but since maternal autonomy is the leading consideration, due to their full neural capacity, it is reasonable option, that individuals should be free to consider.