Spare_change
Gold Member
- Jun 27, 2011
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See?Except that only works if the respondent is lying about his position. If the respondent truly believes that a single embryo/non-viable fetus is the moral equivalent of a single child, then a thousand embryos/non-viable fetuses has a thousand times more moral value than a single child. Which means I was not boxing the respondents in to anything other than honestly indicating the moral value they give to an embryo/non-viable fetus compared to a child."Well, let me see how I can phrase this so as to box in the responder, where he is forced to give me the answer I want."I presented a variation on a Sophie's Choice thought experiment, yesterday, with the intent of demonstrating the intellectual dishonesty of morally equating an embryo, or non-viable fetus with an actual child. When presented, I thought it wasn't a big deal. All I was doing was removing an irrational argument. I was confident that anti-abortionists would still argue against abortion; they would just use one of their other arguments. I realised that equating a fetus with a child was an argument of anti-abortionists, however dishonest it may be. What I did not realise, it appears, is that it is their only argument.
I am beginning to believe this is why so many of them are angry, and are accusing me of trying to force them to give up their anti-abortion position with the experiment. Because the only case they have against abortion is to create the false equivalency of a fetus to a baby, or child. Once you remove that false equivalency, anti-abortionists have no other argument.
I invite the anti-abortionists to prove me wrong. By all means defend your position that abortion should be prohibited by law using any argument that isn't "because they are babies/children/persons".
It's not my fault that your attempts to draw a moral equivalency between a fetus/embryo and a child is intellectually dishonest.
Your ASSUMPTION that I am pro-abortion, you think, gives you permission to avoid the comment about the value of your tirade. Your original question was phrased so that it neatly prevented any serious discussion - which, in the end, is exactly what you wanted. You got your podium - you spouted your nonsensical diatribe.
Now, shut up and go away.