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From: stanwyck@druxu.UUCP (StanwyckDA)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: a task for those opposed to abortion
Message-ID: <1730@druxu.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-Jan-86 14:46:41 EST
Article-I.D.: druxu.1730
Posted: Fri Jan  3 14:46:41 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 4-Jan-86 03:22:52 EST
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Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
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>      I've followed the recent discussions in this group with interest. But I 
> think it's in danger of degenerating into a head-on clash of world-views.
> Probably that's eventually inevitable, but maybe we can get further first.
> I'm interested in whether the "pro-life" people out there can make a case
> against abortion WITHOUT any religious premises. So your task is to produce an
> argument framed in terms acceptable to an aetheist moral philosopher.
> Scriptural quotations are out, references to God are out, arguments starting
> with (say) the Ten Commandments as axiomatic are out. For example, it's 
> fine for you to say that human beings come into existence at the moment of
> conception. It's no good to proceed by saying "Killing human beings is wrong.
> Therefore abortion is wrong. QED." 
>      Of course, you may regard this as a hopeless task; in other words you may
> believe that there's no reason why someone without a religious point of view
> should oppose abortion. That at least ought to explain why we've reached
> an impasse.

Just an equal challange in response:  Can you make an argument against murder
(of adult humans) without resorting to a religious premise.  Statements such
as "it isn't nice" or "it makes me feel bad" are not convincing.  If the 
argument is based on a moral statement, justify that moral statement.
-- 
 ________
 (      )					Don Stanwyck
@( o  o )@					303-538-5004
 (  ||  )					Cornet-374-5004
 ( \__/ )					[druxu|drutx]!stanwyck
 (______)					AT&T-IS @ Denver, CO