Charles Brown
>>> kelley <kcwalker at syr.edu> 08/24/99 02:20PM >>>
i mudered a deer with my car.
i killed a deer with my car.
i hit a deer with my car.
a deer hit my car. [anyone who lives in deer country will know that the last statemenet is the most accurate one!!!! ;-p
i murdered an unborn child
i killed a potential human life/child
i excreted a blob of ectoplasm at an abortion clinic.
the argument here is that
1, many abortion proponents already make a distinction like the above. abortion isn't murder, but it isn't exactly like having an appendectomy.
2. evidence: see numerous attitude surveys and case studies like luker's
3. illustration: see how we make similar distinctions in language.
4. illustration: see how, within US legal sys., a similar logic is used one that can be deployed in response to concerns like those voiced by eric and steve who, in my exp, reflect the concerns of a lot of folks who tend to support abortion rights
5. clearly marta i was arguing that a fetus or potential human life does not have the same status as an infant. my argument was in response to those who don't like abortion=murder but who also find it repulsive to think of it as akin to an appendectomy.