Where does it say that acknowledging the presence of consciousness in other entities means you can't kill them? That's obviously absurd. All life needs to eat, and all life, one way or the other, feeds on death. You don't get to wash your hands clean by pretending that it's fine because the thing you killed doesn't have consciousness; equivalently, killing something doesn't (necessarily) mean your hands are dirty.
The consciousness argument is neither an argument for nor against the practice, any more than it is an argument for or against hunting or warfare. Although infanticide enthusiasts do seem to be rather l eager to imagine the practice is acceptable because babies don't have consciousness.
Context matters. If you kill a man who is attempting to kill you, you've done nothing wrong. If you kill a man because you want his watch, you're a murderer.
Similarly with abortion. If the argument is "a baby would cramp my style", which it seems to be in the overwhelming majority of cases - it's murder.
Where does it say that acknowledging the presence of consciousness in other entities means you can't kill them? That's obviously absurd. All life needs to eat, and all life, one way or the other, feeds on death. You don't get to wash your hands clean by pretending that it's fine because the thing you killed doesn't have consciousness; equivalently, killing something doesn't (necessarily) mean your hands are dirty.
Thanks, an elegant support in favor of abortion.
Making me even more question your statement about "killing babies".
The consciousness argument is neither an argument for nor against the practice, any more than it is an argument for or against hunting or warfare. Although infanticide enthusiasts do seem to be rather l eager to imagine the practice is acceptable because babies don't have consciousness.
Context matters. If you kill a man who is attempting to kill you, you've done nothing wrong. If you kill a man because you want his watch, you're a murderer.
Similarly with abortion. If the argument is "a baby would cramp my style", which it seems to be in the overwhelming majority of cases - it's murder.