Slavery still exists in America.

[Easy E]

[Easy E]

When someone has the right to decide whether you live or die, and they can do so when you are a perfectly normal human being, solely at their own discretion, don't they in essense own you.
Does a murderer "own" his/her victims? Having power to end a life isn't the same as owning someone... and frankly, it doesn't take all that much power (ask any 10-year old "gangsta")

In the same way perhaps as you own a dog. You are innocent, you are healthy, but if I want I can kill you without being considered a murderer. This is slavery, yes?

No, that is one power that was assumed with slavery, or ownership of another person and their work.

Lets say you are walking down the street and you see a auto accident. The only person involved is ejected from the car and lands face down in a ditch filled with water. He is going to drown. Do you have a responsibility to remove his head from the water so he can breath?
Yes

If we did not lift a finger to help a six month old baby to survive, he would certainly die of neglect. And you would go to jail. Only if you were the parent. Otherwise, you would just be a worthless excuse for a human being. I can't print what I think of the parents who do this.

But if you are a mother, you can decree that your unborn baby will not have permission to live any more. The unborn baby is her slave.
I don't think "slave" fits here either, though it is an interesting connection to try and make. Can a fetus have free will and actions? I think slavery is more about taking those away (being able to end a life without punishment is only part of the concept of slavery/ownership)

Lets face it, an unborn baby is human (check the DNA), has a future as a self-reliant individual (unlike a brain-dead coma patient), and is innocent of any crime. Yet that baby can be killed at the whim of their "owner", while we will preserve the life of the coma patient (who has no future), and the criminal, and cherish the life of the six month old. Does this make sense?
Good points all. I say if you allow abortion, then you can't object to euthenasia or capital punishment, among others.

Yes, bearing a baby is a burden, and requires a sacrifice, but so does dragging the fellow out of the ditch, or laboring to preserve the life of the coma patient, or keeping the six month old child alive.
That depends on what you call a sacrifice and how you equate them. I don't see dragging from the ditch as any kind of sacrifice, nor really the coma patient scenario.

Having and raising a baby is a 20+ year commitment/sacrifice. Until we start making the fathers automatically committed to providing for those 20 years as well (and not just monetarily, either) it's a one-sided punishment to make women solely responsible.

The unborn baby (if not a slave) is certainly a second class citizen here. He has less legal right to live than the criminal, the coma patient, his slightly older sibling, and even the complete stranger involved in an accident.
By definition, you aren't a citizen unless you are born on this country's soil, or under its control. Therefore, NO fetus is a "citizen" of (USA?) here.

What gives?
A big long nasty argument with no easy answer for people.

But this was an interesting take on the subject.

[Gamblor]

Since I am agnostic, I don't have this problem - but unlike many non-religious people I am not quick to dismiss a person's view just because it has a religious foundation.

I hope Cyrus is reading this.

He thinks I'm religious.

My hope is to have discussions based on logic and reason even if you originally came to your views because of your religious or non-religious background.

That's classic. No, my views on abortion are based on virtually no information at all. I just think until the baby is born, the mother takes responsibility for its care or lack thereof.