US Politics on Yik Yak | The abortion debate will never be solved because it’s a philosophical question rather than a legislative one

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US Politics 6w

The abortion debate will never be solved because it’s a philosophical question rather than a legislative one

Anonymous 6w

It boils down to two arguments: 1. what constitutes a “person” (as in one with “rights”). 2. Given the fetus is granted personhood, Whose rights take priority (the bodily autonomy angle) These are all founded in social constructs, that are by definition going to vary from person to person. Pro choice: personhood granted at birth, mother’s autonomy supercedes Pro birth: personhood granted at fertilization, fetus autonomy supercedes

Anonymous 6w

Anonymous

#3 6w

How does either argument gain any headway? They’re fundamentally both rooted in an abstract idea of “personhood”. I feel like you can’t make a convincing case for when personhood is granted (without invoking religion or something) at any point in fetal development, so how does that even get decided?

Anonymous

#3 6w

I suppose, the pragmatic argument of “if abortion is illegal, it’ll still be attempted without safety” That’s enough for me, I don’t have any hard attachment to any particular moment as defining personhood, so it’s a non issue for me But, if a person believes personhood is defined at fertilization, I can’t make any convincing argument against that, so their conclusion of anti choice follows from that. So, what progress can be made?

Anonymous

#3 6w

By that logic it would also be reasonable to legalize other things people will do anyways. We could install drunk driving lanes, or provide kits for people to safely break car windows

Anonymous

#4 6w

But those differ in the effect of third parties, while Putting abortion in that group hinges on the personhood of the fetus, which is where it gets undefined