Is the Pro-choice assumption that the fetus or embryo "has no soul" a viable argument?

Answer 1

There is no clear cut, yes or no answer to your question. If there was it wouldn't be such a controversial topic. What I am going to do is give you my OPINION, which is at least a lot more honest than anyone who tells you yes or no.

When someone is dying, the final say on whether they are dead or not is when their brain-wave activity stops, not when their heart or breathing stops. There are hundreds of people every day who are resuscitated after either one of those things happens. You are dead when your brain stops(ie.. No one is at home).

Since we already have in place an accepted definition of death I feel we should use the same reasoning for the definition of life. When the brain becomes active, the person is alive, with all the rights of a person who has already made it out of the womb. Before the brain starts to function, while there is a possibility of life, it's no more of a possibility than a woman's egg or a man's sperm, and no more alive than a tumor.

This is where all the radicals and sky pilot's jump in and say that it's not ok to spill your seed either because it says it in the bible. However the thing that makes this a great nation is our forefathers had the good sense to separate church and state. While if you are a member of a religion to who this is sacrilege, you as an american have to remember that there are other people with different beliefs living here too, and as a non-church state, a legal definition based on observable facts should be the rule. Unfortunately, we also have lobbyist and special intrest groups who neither want to listen or care about any other opinion but their own, which is why this is an ongoing debate to this day.

So finally, the answer should be---it's a good argument up until the point the brain becomes active and a person as a thinking being starts to exist.

Sorry this was so long, I get carried away sometimes. Thanks for taking the time to read this far though.

Answer 2

Actually that isn't an assumption pro-choice people make.

My own view is that if it is living then it has a life or soul if you wish to call it that.

If I cut skin off of my finger, does the living cells for the next hour have no life? Actually they do have life. It was part of me, until it was cut off.

Embryos and for that matter children, are the same. They are an extention of the mother's life. While they are unable to live on their own, they are not separate lives. They are apart of the mother's life and the mother has the right to remove it to a certain point, just like you have the right to remove an organ, or flesh as long as you have a good reason to do so.

The difference between me and you is that you believe a life is created rather than extended.

Abortion is an unfortunate consequence of society's decision that money is more important than life, and people who haven't managed to stop being poor should be punished because of it. The first is the basis of our type of economy, and the second is a basic belief of conservatives.

Humorously the above paragraph I've written suggests that we should get rid of the conservatives and change our society to a version that has enough socializm to ensure every person has enough to eat and a place to sleep.

Answer 3

it is itself an assumption that pro-choice people make such an assumption!

There are many possible points of view on the soul, all basically speculative. Some believe we have a soul that "reincarnates"; some have believe that a person consists of many separate souls (q.v. Egyptian religion); some would argue that soul equates to consciousness, and/or is an "emergent property" of complexity [implying that an embryo has a soul on a par with a tadpole]. One could be skeptical of the reality of a soul and yet feel that abortion terminates a potential human being. My point is that there are dozens of possibilities, not just two, and that quite a lot of it hinges on speculation, fervent beliefs, skepticism, but not on a great deal of factual evidence. Sometimes arguments arise out of a psychological need to control others, too, so motivations factor into the issue.

Answer 4

Not really, I prefer the argument that I don't give a d*** whether it has a soul or not, it's none of my business.

Nobody can prove souls one way or the other, so that argument is a waste of time. Who actually argues this anyway? Maybe you all could start arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

And Azndonut, I wouldn't be here, so what? How can I be upset about that? I would never have had a consciousness to begin with. Do you understand that? Should I type slower?

What if Hitler's parents HAD aborted him? Where would we be now?

Answer 5

No, because the people that say that are wrong. Obviously, we can see that every human alive has a soul/personality, because there is more to us than just being physical beings, we are feeling beings as well. We were all once fetuses ourselves, so it is really just a matter of time for a soul to develop - the starting point is conception. By having an abortion, you are snuffing out a soul indeed; you're completely throwing away a person's chance at life, love, and growth here on Earth.

Answer 6

Never, because you can't prove it one way or another. Besides, what's a soul got to do with money?

The fetus is normal, healthy tissue. It is not a disease, not a mutation. This being the case, if you went to a doctor and said you would pay him to remove your healthy, normal arm because it is 'inconvenient', he would never do it, because there are not enough people requesting this procedure to make it 'viable', that is, profitable, so he would cite the Hippocratic oath that says to do no harm to anyone (although he wouldn't tell you that Hippocrates also said to never do surgery for money), and he would refuse to do the procedure. He wouldn't want to be sued later, or have his license taken away, either of which would injure his income earning ability.

On the other hand, if THOUSANDS of people ever got together and demanded to have their arms removed, then the income potential would be tremendous. At $10,000 per operation, plus what they could get by selling the removed tissue to researchers, make-up companies and the like, their attitudes would change overnight, and they'd gladly do it. They'd even set up clinics and put together 'information material' to try and convince people to have their arms removed. They'd especially target people under age 18 because they are ignorant. Eventually, they'd push for laws that allow them to do the procedure on children without their parents even knowing about it.

But as for the soul argument, do you really think that ANYONE who would want to kill a baby, in or out of the womb, could really even BELIEVE in a soul?

Answer 7

No the pro choice assumption is that not every one is a Christian and not every one believes the same when asked 'when does human life begin?' You see, Christians believe that life begins at conception and other religions or people don't. The has no soul argrument is undoubtly Christian. I think the Pro Choice movement is just for a woman to have a 'right to choose' .

Answer 8

What is worse? Forcing another child to be born into a loveless family which cannot support it, or spending it's youth being bounced from abusive foster home to foster home, or being born into drugs and violence, or knowing daddy was a rapist and mommy was savagely attacked in order to create them.

Or is it worse to end the suffering before the child has to experience it and allow the soul (if it exists) to inhabit a body which will be loved for eternity and have a chance to enjoy this world?

Answer 9

I don't believe so. I personally believe, through my study of the Bible, that life begins at conception--not just physical life, but the soul and spirit of that individual.

For a little insight on God's view of life, read Psalm 139 in the Bible. At the very least, it will get you thinking.

Answer 10

I don't think so, and i am pro-choice. We have no way of knowing when a soul etc comes into the picture.