| By ODUMarc - May 30th, 2007 at 9:03 am EDT |
What are your thoughts on these cases in which a murderer is charged with a doubble murder for killing a mother who is pregnant? I always cringe when I hear the fetus referred to as the "unborn baby" or by its intended name. My feelings are split on this, because on one hand, a fetus should always be treated like a fetus and not a human being, and on the other hand, it is a pretty cruelsome crime to kill a mother and fetus.
The argument could always be made that there is a difference between a fetus intended to be born by its mother, which makes it a double murder, and a fetus that is terminated because its mother made the very hard decision to have an abortion. All these fetal protection laws really do confuse me, in terms of ideologies.
Thoughts?
!
Comments are closed for this post.
The fetus IS an unborn human being -- properly incubated, it'll pop out of the mom and be among us.
We've collectively decided it's in society's best interest if we allow a mother to kill her unborn child prior to a certain 'cut-off' date, usually the third trimester (though the specific date we set isn't terribly important).
There's nothing wrong with that.
Murder is the act of killing someone you don't have a right to kill. The double-murderer didn't have the right to kill the fetus -- the mother did. As a society, we find it beneficial to uphold that distinction (lower crime rates, women feel more autonomy over their own bodies, everyone ends up happier).
Everyone who's intellectually honest needs to own up to the fact that they're in favor of the taking of innocent human life in some circumstances.
For instance, while we all hope for less pollution, we recognize that a society with zero pollution is unrealistic - we aim for utility maximization. Similarly, we allow adults to drive with alcohol in their system so long as it's below a rather arbitrary legal limit - knowing full well that this will cost some lives - because the alternative is considered too inconvenient.
These trade-offs may not make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but they're real and we make them as a society.
A fetus (Latin for "little one", one being a pronoun for "person") meets ALL scientific criteria for being a life form, and according to his unique DNA can only be classified as the genus/species "homo sapien"...or human being.
The scientific criteria for life are:
1. Organism must have DNA - fetus, CHECK!
2. Organism must have method by which they extract energy (ambilical cord) from its surroundings (womb), and convert it to energy for sustenance....fetus, CHECK!
3. Organism must have the ability to respond to stimuli....fetus, CHECK!
4. Organism must have a system or method for reproduction...fetus, CHECK!
It is unequivocal...indisputable...u ndebatable that a fetus is an unborn human being, a child, an infant, and that those who kill fetuses whether through the murder of a pregnant woman or through abortion are in fact murdering children, regardless of the legality of such act.
This logic is not difficult to understand. You therefor are either intentionally denying the truth for personal convenience and amoral disregard or simply lack intelligence.