One Truly Philosophical Problem
22 January 2005, 6 am | Observation
Last summer, Mark at Minute Particulars rephrased Camus’ famous statement about suicide in terms for a reasonable discourse on abortion:
There is but one truly philosophical problem regarding abortion, and that is homicide. Judging whether an unborn child is or is not a human being amounts to answering the fundamental question of abortion. All the rest—whether or not individual choice must be safeguarded, whether abortion can be legislated—comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer.
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Comments
Hi Mark,
Thanks for posting this. It’s a topic that I keep wrestling with. I think we ask the wrong question when we try to understand the ethics of abortion and that question is - is it murder? I think we can categorically say “yes.” I think the question we should be asking is - is it ever OK to end another human life? Thanks for giving me something to ponder.
Peace,
Karen
∼ πλ · 22 January 2005, 9 am · by Karen H. ¬
I love the quote, Mark, and have been tossing around in my thoughts lately how some of the same people who so violently oppose the Iraq situation express no sentiments about the abortion issue. I watched a rather graphic portrayal of WWII’s death camps and the seeming indifference of Germans who lived nearby. The whole idea of what God expects of us in a day and age when such issues hit us in such volume is rattling around in my brain. We judge each other for what we do or do not do, but doesn’t it really all come down to the voice of God in our life?…………..
∼ πλ · 22 January 2005, 5 pm · by Jim ¬
I agree that abortion is clearly murder…..BUT…I submit that not murdering our unborn also creates our army of abandoned children, children living in crime and drug drenched “homes,” and kids in school systems that serve only teachers (Philadelphia?) is also murder, murder of any meaningful futures and murder of our souls. Murder made even worse because these are slow deaths that we stand by and ignore.
∼ πλ · 24 January 2005, 9 am · by Howard Veit ¬
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