[2374] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Religion v. The Government (was
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John F Haugh II)
Sat Feb 22 13:55:51 1992
To: com-priv@psi.com
From: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II)
Date: 22 Feb 92 17:54:19 GMT
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II)
In article <6069@lib.tmc.edu> jmaynard@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu (Jay Maynard) writes:
>No, the logic is not correct.
Wrong, the logic is quite correct. You'd like to dodge the implication
by pretending that specific individuals don't have specific obligations
in today's society.
>The difference is that the fetus is not dependent on *an*other, but rather
>that it is dependent on *a particular* other. That other cannot be forced to
>maintain that dependency. Your argument condemns a particular woman to 9
>months of slavery. The day-old infant, the grandmother lying on the kitchen
>floor with a broken hip, the businessman in his car that's just been
>demolished by a drunk driver, all of these are dependent on *others*, but no
>particular other person.
The current state of law requires parents to provide for their children.
If the child needs food, clothing and shelter, the state is free to punish
the SPECIFIC people who are the legal guardians of that child for failing to
provide that service.
In the case of a newborn infant, a parent is not free to deposit the child
on the front steps of a public building and say "This child is obviously
dependent on *an*other person, not *a particular* person." and thereby
avoid their responsiblities to that child.
As for condemning a woman to slavery - the alternative is condemning a
child to death. Even if it were slavery (try arguing that supporting
children is theft if you really believe what you've said), slavery for
9 months is certainly less of an intrusion on ones rights than death
forever.
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