re: Lets Talk Politics

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Quickening makes the most sense, at least until we know more about the neurological basis of consciousness.

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It's tricky to try to describe some position as "making the most sense", because one has to question what determines the sensibility. If "humanity", or "personhood", is a moral designation, and not a scientific classification, then how can one moral framework make more sense than another?

I mean, we (nearly) all agree that all humans who have been born are persons with legal rights and moral standing. But that wasn't always the case in the U.S., and isn't universally the case world-wide even today.

As for using quickening as the standard, I'm not sure there would be a large portion of activists on either side who would support that. Pro-lifers would consider it too late by far, and pro-choicers would consider it too early by far.

My personal stance is that the individual begins at conception, so that's where I draw the line. But as far as public policy is concerned, the only solution that I think would ultimately satisfy most is for Roe/Casey to be reversed, and the decision returned to the states.