This is actually a very powerful argument. Unless one can prove beyond doubt that there is no moral difficulty in abortion this is exactly the position its proponents are in.
No, in fact this is not the case. How about this:
"Those who are pro-sodomy are like slave holders in their arguments. Just shut up, our violation of human rights doesn't affect you.
...
Unless one can prove beyond doubt that there is no moral difficulty in sodomy, this is exactly the position its proponents are in."
There is no logic in your position, only rhetoric.
The two earlier resposnes are in comaprison quite weak. Scubajesus does not seem to realize that he is the one who is saying that he knows when a human being becomes a human being. If you really took the position that you did not know when life begins, then you would have to err on the side of caution and not interfere with any step of the process.
And thus you fail to use logic properly. The question is not when life begins, but when a group of cells is to be considered Human and a valid possessor of the attendant rights. Your conclusion that one must err on the side of caution is on its face rational, but you then explicitly take it to an inductive path to absurdity.
Noninterference with any step of the process requires noninterference with any step of the process, which leads directly into necronomikron's critique. At some point we need either an objective criterion for determining the minimal requirements for Humanity, or an arbitrary stopping point. Thus scubajesus' point: as Pastorb provides no criteria for determining Humanity, one arbitrary demarcation is as valid as another.
I would ask my dear Lucilius (how can one resist quiting Seneca?), that if his wife becomes pregnant, and the child is found to have Down's syndrome, and would inevitably become a heavy charge upon the government, would he object to the government requiring her to abort the raspberry-sized clump? How could he, since it has no human rights?
He could object, or rather he could support his wife in her objection, based on other grounds.
