I really don't like the "no one should be forced to be responsible for another person’s life without agreeing to it" argument very much. It borders too much on reactionary notions of "fuck you I've got mine" rugged individualism. If I don't have a responsibility for the life of the "person" inside me, then why should I have a responsibility for the homeless guy, the refugee or anyone else?
Living in a society means we become responsible for eachother's wellbeing. This is a very good thing as it means we get to have civilization. Most of the time that responsibility can only be handled collectively but there are situations when that responsibility becomes personal. If I were a fit swimmer and saw a kid fall into the harbour, should it not be my moral, legal and social responsibility to jump in and save that kid from drowning, even if I never agreed to have that responsibility?
In my opinion the way forward is to argue that a fetus is not a person.
I would say that individuals generally don't have responsibility for other individuals so much as society has a whole has the responsibility for the well-being for individuals. Lots of grey area within that though.
I really don't like the "no one should be forced to be responsible for another person’s life without agreeing to it" argument very much. It borders too much on reactionary notions of "fuck you I've got mine" rugged individualism. If I don't have a responsibility for the life of the "person" inside me, then why should I have a responsibility for the homeless guy, the refugee or anyone else?
Living in a society means we become responsible for eachother's wellbeing. This is a very good thing as it means we get to have civilization. Most of the time that responsibility can only be handled collectively but there are situations when that responsibility becomes personal. If I were a fit swimmer and saw a kid fall into the harbour, should it not be my moral, legal and social responsibility to jump in and save that kid from drowning, even if I never agreed to have that responsibility?
In my opinion the way forward is to argue that a fetus is not a person.
I would say that individuals generally don't have responsibility for other individuals so much as society has a whole has the responsibility for the well-being for individuals. Lots of grey area within that though.