For me, it's all about the right to bodily autonomy on the part of the person we know is a fully-fledged human being, the woman.
Exactly. I think the whole "is a fetus 'life'" is a direct result of the Roe v. Wade and the viability test it sets for determining the legality of a termination procedure. Basically, saying that life begins at conception is an attempt to make a zygote "viable" at formation.
I find this whole line of argument a bit of a red herring, because it ignores the philosophical/constitutional underpinnings of the right to choose. It's not about whether a fetus is a legal life. It's about whether a woman, in the exercise of her right to personal autonomy and her right to privacy, chooses to have an abortion. The analysis should begin and end there.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-01-24 10:31 pm (UTC)Exactly. I think the whole "is a fetus 'life'" is a direct result of the Roe v. Wade and the viability test it sets for determining the legality of a termination procedure. Basically, saying that life begins at conception is an attempt to make a zygote "viable" at formation.
I find this whole line of argument a bit of a red herring, because it ignores the philosophical/constitutional underpinnings of the right to choose. It's not about whether a fetus is a legal life. It's about whether a woman, in the exercise of her right to personal autonomy and her right to privacy, chooses to have an abortion. The analysis should begin and end there.