I think I am very unusual in the sense that I believe abortions should be tax-paid, free to everyone, and pregnancy tests should also be free.... BUT I also think abortion should be very limited, to something around the first **10 weeks** at most.

I've had both right and left leaning folks loose their shit over that. Always entertaining

#Abortion #Healthcare

@freemo Probably because this position--in that you are subsidizing other people's sexual relationship to taxpayers--is about as wise as levying a tax on sex itself.

@jbschirtzinger Yea there is a fair argument against such a cost to tax payers... generally I would agree with you here. But its the only ethical alternative I can think of that doesnt violate the rights of the mother or fetus.

@freemo What about the rights of the fetus?

@jbschirtzinger Thats exactly why a 10 week period was picked, since the fetus has no neurons yet it doesnt have rights. Once there are neurons forming (which happens around that time period) it has all the protections and rights... thats the point.

@freemo I'm not sure the fetus would agree with you as I don't think neurons are the cut off point of what constitutes alive. Unlike say, someone who is brain dead and isn't likely to come back, it is the nature of a fetus to unfold and develop into a person.

@jbschirtzinger

How could a lump of cells with no brain or nurons in any way disagree with me? It has no thought on any level with which to disagree... which is the point.

It has nothing to do with what constitutes "alive".. its not intending to be a metaphysical or philosophical discussion. Its about suffering and a sense of self. If you have no conscious, no thought, no means of expierncing suffering. It has no more consciousness than a barnacle.

@freemo You seem to be overlooking the concept of "a soul" and those can talk with or without bodies and get quite pissy when they are unjustly deprived of a fleshy vehicle through something like say, killing or murder.

@jbschirtzinger The "soul" can get as upset as it wants, it can hitch a ride on the next meat puppet if it wants.