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Is Abortion Immoral?
Treating the preclusion of life as if it were the extinguishing of life is a tricky business
The ethical concerns around abortion are unique because they deal with an act of precluding life. Is stopping something from happening the same as undoing it once it has happened?
It raises many interesting questions, but the first is one of trying to discern the point at which life begins. Now, I have argued in the past that life is basically an illusion. Humans are something like biological robots, and it’s very hard to distinguish our inner workings from that of a virus, Earth’s climate, or our most advanced tech.
Viruses, which are not technically alive, work to selfishly promote their own survival, often at the cost of their host’s life — a very life-esque thing for them to do. Earth’s climate has maintained a homeostatic balance, working around set rhythms, much like the human body. Our technology can perform astounding functions due to a cooperative effort of their internal organs, until time wears them down and they break, as is the case with you or me.
However, even if life is hard to define, it’s obvious humans are different, for example, from a rock. When we become different, however, is the subject of much debate. Some might argue this happens as soon as we begin to…
