And here is why :
Abortion fails to meet the legal definition of murder even when abortion is illegal (Interesting huh?)
Here’s why:
Unlawful – Abortion is not unlawful in North America.
Person hood– A fetus is not legally defined as a person. Nor can it be defined scientifically as a person. Person hood is a purely philosophical position. Most philosopher’s agree that there are certain basic requirements that one must meet to be defined a person and a fetus fails to meet them all.
Malice – No one gets abortions to punish or kill fetuses specifically. Most people feel zero malice towards the fetus they are aborting. Some feel sorry for it, some feel nothing and yes, some (Maybe a few) feel angry that it exists (And I’m sure other emotions too), but malice is not one.
No one wants an abortion just to kill something.
Premeditation – Premeditation would require that abortion be the end goal before the pregnancy even begins. This means that the person would have to have sex just so they could get an abortion. No one does. Premeditation therefore does not exist.
Lawful excuse – You have a lawful excuse. The right to Bodily Autonomy. This is the right which allows us to decide who may use our bodies, what parts they may use, what they may be used for and for how long. This means if I do not consent to the use of my uterus by a fetus I have the right to remove said fetus. Bodily Autonomy is the most basic human right.
There you have it. Abortion fails to meet the requirements for murder at every stage. Yes, it’s gory and bloody when you use late term abortions (which only account for about 1.5% of abortions anyways and are dead fetuses that failed to be expelled naturally, fetuses that were actively dying and putting the pregnant person in immediate danger and fetal abnormalities.)
Yes, it’s unpleasant to look at -so is open heart surgery. Being unpleasant to look at doesn’t equal murder though, it never has.
So no. Abortion is not murder, hope you enjoyed my uneducated arguments about law, logic, philosophy and human rights.
Wow, it is nice to find this so clearly defined. The fetus-fetish signal will be turned on and set to 11 shortly, I’m sure.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
11 comments
January 15, 2014 at 7:35 am
john zande
Fails in another area, although this might fall under the person hood umbrella. You cannot “kill” something that is not alive. We have a very strict medical definition of death: no sustained EEG activity. The fetus does not exhibit sustained EEG activity until around week 25. Before this period it is, quite literally, not “On,” and if something is not “On” it cannot be turned “Off.”
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January 15, 2014 at 10:45 am
syrbal-labrys
You are, of course, singing to the choir here. I’ve contended with the rabid-hyena-fetus-lovers and they are sure EVERY abortion is a late-stage bloodbath and we are all murderous baby-hating liberals.
They cannot wrap their minds around anything remotely factual; which is why I wish something like the mythic Midgard serpent would wrap its coils around THEM…
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January 15, 2014 at 6:48 pm
The Arbourist
@Syrbal
Wouldn’t that be nice? :) I’d be happy with a serpent squeezing some sense into the anti-choice crowd.
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January 15, 2014 at 6:49 pm
syrbal-labrys
Or squeezing the stupid out!
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January 15, 2014 at 6:53 pm
The Arbourist
@Syrbal
That would take a lot of squeezing…poor serpent might pull a vertebrae or something.
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January 15, 2014 at 6:56 pm
syrbal-labrys
Oh, no, constrictor snakes are EXPERTS at constriction….no worries.
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January 15, 2014 at 7:13 pm
jasonjshaw
Reblogged this on Christianity Simplified and commented:
A thoughtful look at how abortion does not equal murder.
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January 16, 2014 at 6:23 am
Quackzalcoatl
Nice. I’m sure you can find similar such “educated arguments about law, logic, philosophy and human rights” applied to the Native Americans, Africans, Jews, and any other horribly abused populations throughout our history.
Oh, I’m sorry. That must be the rabid-hyena-fetus-lover in me talking….
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January 16, 2014 at 7:09 am
Mystro
@Quackzalcoatl
The last reason, the most important one, effectively precludes your counter-examples. No abused population has ever lived inside someone else’s body, endangering their mental and physical health and their lives.
Bodily autonomy is actually a big part of why the abuse of those populations you mentioned is so very wrong. Thus your point about the evils of disenfranchising populations actually supports the pro-choice position, not the one you’re espousing.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be the rabid-hyena-fetus-lover in me talking…”
Yup, but now you know better. You’re welcome.
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January 16, 2014 at 8:43 am
The Arbourist
@Mystro
But Mystro, comparing apples to supernovae and calling them equivalent is what the informed, completely hinged, anti-choice lobby is all about.
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January 16, 2014 at 11:38 am
Brandon Econ
Whatever helps you sleep better at night.
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