I don't have an answer for you, not surprisingly, but I do have a story that might help in some odd way. I have always been pro-life. I have always felt that fundamentally, everyone should be given the right to exist, and I believe that abortion takes away that right, which I feel should be inaliable. But okay, we'll disagree on that point, even if our opinions are both very strong. I used also to be strongly pro capital punishment. Just a few years ago, I was thinking, and it occurred to me that these two stances opposed each other. I had to ask myself which of these values was more important to me. The answer, to me, was very, very clear, I could not, can not, and will never condone abortion, end of story. So my stance on capital punishment, after this realization, is that I very reluctantly oppose it.
There is a difference, though, with the hospital cases you cited. In both of those cases, the question was not about terminating the person's life, the question was about artificially prolonging it. My dad begged us not to artificially prolong his life at the end, but by the same token, he would never have done anything to prematurely end it. So there, I think, is where the difference lies. With both abortion and capital punishment, you are terminating a person's life. In the case of disconnecting life support, you are simply not artificially prolonging the life of the tissues. This may not be the right answer, but it's my answer as I see things at this point in time.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-07-14 04:45 pm (UTC)There is a difference, though, with the hospital cases you cited. In both of those cases, the question was not about terminating the person's life, the question was about artificially prolonging it. My dad begged us not to artificially prolong his life at the end, but by the same token, he would never have done anything to prematurely end it. So there, I think, is where the difference lies. With both abortion and capital punishment, you are terminating a person's life. In the case of disconnecting life support, you are simply not artificially prolonging the life of the tissues. This may not be the right answer, but it's my answer as I see things at this point in time.