Pro-abort prof argues babies not ‘persons’ til 18 months, not an ‘offense’ against child to kill it

LifeSiteNews ^ | 3/10/11 | Patrick B. Craine

[wagglebee]

Mercer agreed that the unborn are human beings, and that abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being, but argued that the notion of “human being” is not a “morally relevant concept.” Individuals are not special by virtue of their “species membership,” he said, but become “persons” and worthy of protection because they possess certain “ethically salient properties” such as the ability to experience pain or pleasure, self-consciousness, and rationality.

This sick thinking is typical of the pro-abortion movement.

[wagglebee]

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[Nonstatist]

18 months? The previous estimate used to be 6 months... I’m just just waiting until it hits 18 years; then I can take my kid out for wrecking the car.

[Jim Robinson]

Evil bastard!

[PATRIOT1876]

Next argument:

Conservatives are not fully developed persons (ask Bill Maher)

People who disagree with the AGW scam are not fully developed persons

People who disagree with the State or engage in OldSpeak are not fully developed persons

Who will be the next 100 million to go at the whim of the Leftist leaders?

[TribalPrincess2U]

Amazing how they can spin their evil.

If it has a heartbeat, it’s alive.

[MrB]

The natural conclusions of evolutionary thinking -

humans are nothing special, just one species along the long trail of chemicals fighting for supremacy.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Individuals are not special by virtue of their “species membership,” he said, but become “persons” and worthy of protection because they possess certain “ethically salient properties” such as the ability to experience pain or pleasure, self-consciousness, and rationality.

In other words, we have to earn the right to be human. And Mercer intends to appoint himself to the Death Panel that gets to decide who qualifies - regardless of their chronological age. So I guess those racist Tea Partiers are next on his list...

[SecondAmendment]

> he said, but become “persons” and worthy of protection
> because they possess certain “ethically salient properties”

So by this standard, we may safely say that Liberals cannot be considered to be "persons" !

[Americanexpat]

This SOB could have worked in a mazi concentration camp.

[melsec]

“Mercer nevertheless defended his view as the only cogent approach. He dismissed arguments based on “women’s struggle for equality” saying that that they fail to address the “moral status of the fetus,” and disagreed with approaches that claim a woman’s “right to choose” outweighs the unborn child’s “right to life,” saying that these only come into conflict in a “narrow range of cases,” such as rape. “

The mad feminists would not have liked these answers he gave though as it undercuts ALL of their arguements. I love it when lefties pull the rug out from under each other! So nice to see them fall on their a#rse.

Mel

[hinckley buzzard]

It's the linchpin of the whole death culture. Note that by this guys' reasoning the demented elderly would cease to be "persons" and therefore also become disposable without penalty. Welcome to Nazi Germany and latterday Holland--and Princeton Univesity.

[hinckley buzzard]

It's the linchpin of the whole death culture. Note that by this guys' reasoning the demented elderly would cease to be "persons" and therefore also become disposable without penalty. Welcome to Nazi Germany and latterday Holland--and Princeton University.

[Soothesayer]

I will have to disagree with Gray on one point:

sometimes humans are not people.

Anyone leftist who says that an 18 month old child is a “non-person” is too evil to be considered a person.

Leftists are so diabolical that they ought to be exterminated on sight.

[little jeremiah]

I've only read a bit and just what I've read so far is so heartbreakingly evil I can't hold back tears.

Mercer agreed that the unborn are human beings, and that abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being, but argued that the notion of “human being” is not a “morally relevant concept.” Individuals are not special by virtue of their “species membership,” he said, but become “persons” and worthy of protection because they possess certain “ethically salient properties” such as the ability to experience pain or pleasure, self-consciousness, and rationality.

[MsLady]

Our youth are the victims twice, once by being seduced into thinking this is ok and a right. And the second by having so many of their generation missing, including siblings. They are taking up their cross and moving us forward into victory. I so admire these kids. God bless them.

Link

[Celtic Cross]

Evil SOB. Sitting there, arguing that only 'persons' have a right to life. Well, in my book, this bastard isn't even human, let alone a 'person'.

Lord help him to see the light.

[MikeSteelBe]

I agree sympathetically, but that would make us no better then them.

It’s not easy to have to wait for the other side to shoot first.

[raybbr]

Spawn of Satan...

---

Philosophy Faculty

Dr. Mark Mercer - Department Chair Degrees: B.A. (Hons.), M.A. (Carleton), Ph.D. (Toronto) Courses Recently Taught: Epistemology;  Ethics; Philosophy of Mind; Plato and the Presocratics Recent Publications: “In Defence of Believing Wishfully,” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY (2010). “The Significance of Christmas for Liberal Multiculturalism,” CHRISTMAS: PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE (2010); "Folk Psychology's Epistemic Credentials," FACTA PHILOSOPHICA (2007); "Metaphor and Sentence Meaning," FACTA PHILOSOPHICA (2006); "In Defence of Weak Psychological Egoism," ERKENNTNIS (2001); "Grounds of Liberal Tolerance," JOURNAL OF VALUE INQUIRY (1999); "Psychological Egoism and Its Critics," SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY (1998) Home Page: markmercer Phone 902-420-5825 mark.mercer@smu.ca Office Hours:  Mon. & Wed. 8:00 am to 10:00 pm and 12 noon to 2:00 pm