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Originally posted by Not Me
What is a human being? Note I did not ask you at what point an embryo becomes a human being. I am asking you to DEFINE what you mean when you use the term "human being."
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Frankly, I don't know. And I have thought long and hard on it.
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Now I am asking you to tell me at what point that transition occurs.
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I don't know, and have great respect for a court that tells me they don't either.
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But if the absolutists focus the debate elsewhere, they will lose, too. See my point above that abortion will never be outlawed in all 50 states. It's not going to happen.
I think 20 years ago, people were more likely to tolerate abortion at whim and that the pro-life efforts have changed minds on this point. Not saying that they changed any pro-choice person's mind about first trimester abortions, but I think them keeping this issue at the forefront of the political debate has helped to switch many pro-choice people's mantra from "a woman's right to choose" to "safe, legal, and rare." And that's progress.
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Maybe not. I'm Catholic, and would describe myself as reasonably pro-choice. 20 years ago, there were not a lot of Catholics out there who thought like I do. Today there are. I think many, many people are pushed to defend broader pro-choice laws by the vitriol we see from the right to lifers.
