(12-05-2016, 12:26 AM)Warren Dew Wrote:(12-04-2016, 11:52 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:Warren Dew Wrote:Abortion is a culture war issue, because it stems from moral judgements that aren't really amenable to rational analysis.
Abortion? It is safe to assume that most abortions are early in the term of a pregnancy. Late-term pregnancies in which a woman has an emotional investment in the pregnancy are rare, and usually involve a non-viable infant or a pregnancy that imposes an extreme danger of death or serious injury to the mother. Giving up a baby to an adoption seems like an easier choice than abortion except all but boundary conditions, so to speak.
It is far easier to express the black-and-white philosophy of the Religious Right than to deal with the rough edges of boundary conditions. f(x) = 1/x behaves well except around x = 0
I agree with your facts; the vast majority of abortions are early in pregnancy and late term pregnancies usually involve a nonviable infant or a severe danger to the woman.
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here, though. Can you clarify? What are you disagreeing with me on, if anything?
Whether abortion is to be outlawed? Maybe I am dealing with a stance more than with a person.
I think we can all find some 'objectionable' abortion, typically one done for purely-selfish reasons... let us say a danseuse having an abortion so that she can continue as a professional dancer and not miss out on some of her peak earnings. Or perhaps an abortion paid for by some heel (with a bonus of some getting-life-together money) with political aspirations who decides that it is better to pay for an abortion than have an illegitimate child as a potential detriment to his political career.
...If there were some way to tell that the fetus were going to grow up be a dangerous sociopath, let us say Josef Stalin or Ted Bundy, would you support the abortion?
Abortion has always been a tough issue for debate.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.