Notes from Apr 2

For you slackers, skippers, and soccer players, here are the notes from the most amazing two hours you've ever missed. I'm joking by the way. Don't get offended.


Euthanasia Definitions

• Eu = good + thanatos = death
• Can be called mercy killing or Physician Assisted Suicide
• Voluntary = patient requesting death
• Involuntary = patient not able to request it
• Passive = withholding treatment
• Active = killing with substance or force
• Living Will = paperwork stating your preferences for life support and death

Euthanasia Examples

• Plato and Socrates (pro-euthanasia) and Hippocrates (anti-euthanasia) debated the topic. 
• Action T4- Nazi’s ordering of handicapped children and adults to be killed (over 75,000 adults and children, many forcibly taken from their homes). They referred to their actions as euthanasia. 
• Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act legalized physician assisted death in 1994. Washington did the same in 2008. 
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian (Dr. Death) assisted 130 people in death between 1990 and 1998 with his machine which let patients give themselves lethal injections. He famously said, “Dying is not a crime.” 
• Terri Schiavo became arguably the most famous case of euthanasia due to court battle that lasted from 1998-2005. She had her feeding tube removed and died while making headlines across the world. 

Abortion Facts

• Usually refers to the voluntary termination of a pregnancy, but some people use the term to refer to miscarriages.
• There are about 40 million abortions worldwide each year.
• There is evidence of abortions in many ancient civilizations (China, Egypt, Greece, etc)
• Roe v. Wade in 1973 legalized abortion in the US

Abortion Laws

• You can see the various laws from around the world on Wikipedia. 
• Notice how in Muslim and Catholic countries, abortion is illegal with exceptions. You can see worldviews playing out. 

Abortion Debate
People argue over:

• Choice: “Women have a right to choose what happens to their own bodies” and “The unborn child has a choice too.” 
• Necessity: “Abortion must be legal for special cases of life and death, etc.” and “If abortion was illegal, women would have back-alley abortions” 
• Personhood: The debate has shifted from a fetus being a “life” to it not being a “person." Roe v. Wade argued that a fetus is not a person, because if it is, it would be protected under the 14th Amendment 

Logical Fallacies

• Begging the question: “A woman has the right to control her own body” ignores the fact that there are two bodies.
• Argument from silence: “The Bible doesn’t speak about abortion, so it is okay”
• Ad Hominem: “You are a man/teenager/never been through it, so your opinion doesn’t count”
• Red Herring: “If it were illegal, then women would have back alley abortions.” 
• Several: “If you don’t like abortions, don’t have one.” 

Philosophical Thoughts (from Scott Klusendorf, "The Case Against Abortion" from Understanding the Times)

• A fetus is said not to be a person because: 
• Size: however, a 4 foot person is not less of a person than a 6 foot person
• Development: however, a kindergartner is not less of a person than a high-schooler 
• Environment: however, a newborn in an incubator is not less of a person
• Independence: however, an adult who uses insulin is not less human

Debating Abortion (adapted from Scott Klusendorf, "The Case Against Abortion" from Understanding the Times)

• What Would Jesus Do? Show compassion, patience, and love as you talk about abortion. It is a very sensitive topic. Don't make people hate Jesus by the way you talk to them. Be humble, winsome, and careful. Don't argue, patronize, or insult anyone. 
• Personhood : Clarify functioning as a person vs. being one. Even Roe V. Wade stated that a fetus is a person, but biblically (Ps 139 among others) states that it is. Stand firm that a fetus is a person. That is most often the underlying difference of opinion. 
• Trot out the toddler: When people talk about a mother having the right to choose, about some children being unwanted, etc, ask if their logic could be applied to killing a toddler. 
• Clarify moral vs. preference claims: Often people make pro-lifers sound like their case against abortion is personal, arrogantly not understanding the situation some people are in, etc. However, Christianity is against abortion because of morality not personal preference. Christians fundamentally believe it is God's role to decide life and death and that the Bible forbids killing.
• Relativism: When someone says not to force your view on them, ask why not, and whatever they say is them forcing their view on you.