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To: GovernmentShrinker
When it has taken a breath of air. Philosophical and religious debates can roam around in gray area 'til the cows come home, but we need a bright line for legal purposes, and this is as bright as it gets.

This is indeed an intellectually consistent, bright line. It also permits the gruesome procedure of 'partial-birth' abortion right up until the actual moment of birth, and can be construed to allow the killing of the child if it can be prevented from taking a breath after it is born.

There is an even brighter line that can be drawn, and that is the moment of conception. This line has the advantage of being supported by all of our knowledge of biology and medicine.

But even at that point, it's interests do not outweigh the rights of others not to be forced to support it. If you can't support yourself, and nobody else is able and willing to support you, you die. Life isn't a fairy tale.

No child can support itself until it learns the means to do so - again your argument dovetails with that of Prof. Singer. Also implied by your statement is that the injured, sick, and elderly may also be legitimately abandoned to die, since they cannot support themselves. You are not the first to propose such a standard, but I am not sure you want to know where the modern precedent for such a point of view was established.

26 posted on 09/28/2003 12:35:06 PM PDT by thoughtomator (Right Wing Crazy #5338526)
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To: thoughtomator
While "partial birth" abortion and abandoning grandpa to starve after his stroke are ugly scenarios, they are also scenarios that very few people actually want to undertake, and in which quite a few people would offer to take over responsibility for the helpless individual. To my mind, it is well worth weighing the relative harm done by allowing such actions, against the harm done by allowing government to forcibly interfere.
28 posted on 09/28/2003 1:07:16 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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