{"id":59451,"date":"2015-02-09T09:48:10","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T14:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=59451"},"modified":"2015-02-07T14:09:33","modified_gmt":"2015-02-07T19:09:33","slug":"libertarians-should-be-pro-life-preborn-babies-are-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/libertarians-should-be-pro-life-preborn-babies-are-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Libertarians should be pro-life: Preborn babies are people"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>In January, Professor Jan Narveson and I <a href=\"http:\/\/panampost.com\/editor\/2015\/01\/21\/should-libertarians-defend-a-womans-right-to-an-abortion\/\">debated<\/a> whether libertarians should support abortion. Narveson claimed abortion only involves a mother\u2019s right not to have a child, while I argued abortion violates the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Non-aggression_principle\">non-aggression principle (NAP)<\/a> by killing babies.<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"http:\/\/panampost.com\/editor\/2015\/01\/21\/the-non-aggression-principle-only-applies-to-humans\/\">response<\/a> to my argument, Narveson claims embryos, whom science defines as preborn babies during their first eight weeks of development, are not \u201cpeople.\u201d Narveson suggests the reason is the abilities to think, desire, exercise one\u2019s will, dream, etc. (hereinafter \u201cthink, etc.\u201d) are not \u201cwithin the reach of \u2026 embryos.\u201d Narveson concludes that, accordingly, the NAP does not apply to abortion at this developmental stage.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>However, Robert George and Christopher Tollefsen\u2019s book <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1u6i7Xh\"><em>Embryo: A Defense of Human Life <\/em>(2<sup>nd<\/sup> edition, 2011)<\/a> argues that an embryo, which begins as a cell called a zygote after conception, meets the scientific definition of a human being. As it has 46 chromosomes and full genetic material, this zygote is a male or female organism of the species <em>Homo sapiens<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The embryo is genetically unique from the mother or father and has the inherent \u2014 albeit undeveloped \u2014 capacity to think, etc. After conception,<a name=\"_ednref1\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/panampost.com\/editor\/2015\/02\/04\/abortion-unborn-babies-are-people\/#_edn1\">[i]<\/a> the embryo begins developing according to its genetics, a process that will end in the individual\u2019s adulthood. The mother\u2019s body and nutrients only provide a nourishing environment for the embryo to self-develop.<\/p>\n<p>Also, as George and Tollefsen further argue, there are several moral problems with the claim that embryos are not people because their ability to think, etc. is not \u201cwithin reach.\u201d For one, infants do not have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/when-does-consciousness-arise\/?page=1\">abstract thoughts, significant self-awareness, or motivations to act<\/a>, and so do not think and desire in a sophisticated manner. So, depending on when Narveson considers a mental achievement to be \u201cwithin reach,\u201d his logic may permit the killing of humans after birth.<\/p>\n<p>A second problem George and Tollefsen identify concerns embryos\u2019 inherent but undeveloped capacity to think, etc. If there is a direct relationship between the developed capacity to think, etc. and moral dignity, then as the chart I have drawn below illustrates, there could be a social hierarchy of moral worth.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.liveactionnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/chart.jpg\" alt=\"chart\" width=\"389\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/chart.jpg 389w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/chart-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, those with perceived \u201chigher\u201d moral dignity on the above line could abuse those with \u201clower\u201d dignity.<\/p>\n<p>A third problem George and Tollefsen identify is that even adults have many mental capacities that could take over a year(s) to fulfill. Examples include capacities to learn a new language, earn a doctorate, become business-savvy, and play the guitar. Thus, even adults can have completely undeveloped mental capacities, and so may not fully meet Narveson\u2019s requirement for personhood.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, embryos are \u201cpeople\u201d with the inherent capacity to think, etc. Moreover, as the moral problems with the \u201cwithin reach\u201d argument illustrate, inherent in embryos is the same moral dignity as adults. Thus, to deliberately abort embryos or unborn babies at any developmental stage is to violate the NAP.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"_edn1\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/panampost.com\/editor\/2015\/02\/04\/abortion-unborn-babies-are-people\/#_ednref1\">[i]<\/a> Identical twinning can occur in the third week after conception, which marks the origin of a resulting twin\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/panampost.com\/editor\/2015\/02\/04\/abortion-unborn-babies-are-people\/\">PanAm Post originally published this article<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Daniel Smyth is an independent researcher and cofounder of <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.libertyblog.org\">LibertyBlog.org<\/a><strong>. His articles have been in the <\/strong><em><strong>Washington Times<\/strong><\/em><strong>, <\/strong><em><strong>American Thinker<\/strong><\/em><strong>, the <\/strong><em><strong>Freeman<\/strong><\/em><strong>, and other publications. Follow <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/DanielSmyth7\">@DanielSmyth7<\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In January, Professor Jan Narveson and I debated whether libertarians should support abortion. Narveson claimed abortion only involves a mother\u2019s right not to have a child, while I argued abortion violates the non-aggression principle (NAP) by killing babies. In his response to my argument, Narveson claims embryos, whom science defines as preborn babies during their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":59471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Libertarians should be pro-life: Preborn babies are people - Live Action News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/libertarians-should-be-pro-life-preborn-babies-are-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Libertarians should be pro-life: Preborn babies are people - Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In January, Professor Jan Narveson and I debated whether libertarians should support abortion. Narveson claimed abortion only involves a mother\u2019s right not to have a child, while I argued abortion violates the non-aggression principle (NAP) by killing babies. 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