It's intellectually and spiritually lazy to default to a comfortable prejudice shared by one's associates!
The term 'personhood' refers to the 'property' of being able to have rights & duties (obligations) Human Beings are human lifeforms with 'personhood' for example. Historically, we've been too quick to discount personhood when doing so was immoral; for example, slavery (person discounted to another person's property) Determination of 'personhood' impacts not only the contemporary human abortion issue but also the morality of other life form encounters to come. The intellectual & spiritual 'homework' yet to be done by many, is to develop a working criteria for who (or what) gets to be considered a person AND why. If you want that criteria to be generally acknowledged it has to be as rational and objective as possible. Here are *my* 'tentative' COMBINED criteria for who or what gets to be regarded as a person: sentience- ability to consider essential information about one's environment (surroundings, situation and so on) agency- power to act in that environment conscious volition- free will to intervene between stimulus and response by making meaningful choices; without which one can not be 'responsible' for one's actions that interface with other persons Imo, 'personhood' is about individual sovereigns (whose 'domains' are their own bodies and justly held possessions) being free moral agents; which still leaves room for acts of compassion :) Domains http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/message/30419 Morals http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/message/37899 There are three essential areas of moral concern about human abortion: 1. Personhood- At what point do rights and obligations accrue to the developing individual? The spectrum of opinion is from the moment of conception (spiritual, before physical zygote) thru physical gestation to birth and a few years beyond (human infanticide is actually NOT regarded as murder in some societies) 2. Obligation- If the developing individual is deemed a 'person' what, if any, duty to that person exists, to provide support? No person has an 'automatic' claim on the resources of another person to provide them with support. But, did voluntary action by the 'host' person create an obligation to the 'dependent' person? 3. Fatal Eviction- If the 'host' person has a right to deny support to the 'dependent' person, does the 'host' person's right to 'evict' the 'dependent' person include doing so in such a way that is fatal to said dependent? People of sincere conscience can be found on all sides of these three concerns. 'The unexamined life is not worth living' Socrates, in Plato, Dialogues, Apology Greek philosopher in Athens (469 BC - 399 BC) at http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24198.html Please also enter the word consciousness at http://www.Google.com -Terry Liberty Parker see: 'Your Freedom and the Rigths of Others' at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/message/22990 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/KlSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
