NancyLebovitz comments on Diseased thinking: dissolving questions about disease - Less Wrong

236 Post author: Yvain 30 May 2010 09:16PM

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Comment author: NancyLebovitz 05 June 2010 06:29:59PM 0 points [-]

:"Is a fetus a person?" isn't just about abortion, but about other rights for fetuses as well. If a fetus is a person, is the woman carrying it legally obligated to not endanger it?

Comment author: Blueberry 06 June 2010 06:15:55PM *  3 points [-]

I still think that's a disguised query. Whether a fetus is a person is a separate question from whether a woman is obligated to not endanger it. For instance, protected species of animals are not people, but we are legally obligated to not endanger them in certain ways. Convicted murderers on death row, enemy soldiers at war, and people trying to kill you are considered people, but in some situations involving such people, there is no legal obligation to not endanger them.

I can consistently think a fetus is a person, but that there should be no requirement to not endanger it, and vice versa.