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You're right, of course. There is a difference, but I think there can be some overlap. The most obvious case is a soldier with massive wounds. After, say, a year, he realizes that he doesn't want to live if he only has a few parts of his body left and is constantly taking pain pills. Suicidal tendencies? Quality of life? I'm guessing that suicides are normally people who believe, rightly or wrongly, that their quality of life is nonexistent and it will never improve.
I do understand that people go through periods where death seems preferable than life I have experienced my share as well. I do think there is a distinction to be made between suicidal tendencies and what one can expect for future quality of life. . . . I myself was gravely wounded where had I known the full extent of my injuries probably would have wondered off in the confusion to bleed out but that is as close to this issue as I can relate on a personal level.
I can't disagree substantially with anything you say here. I'm not sure about survivability in the period 21-24 weeks, but that's a small point. (I believe the US record is 20 weeks 5 days.)
My primary concern in this matter is the quality of life a child brought into the world under these circumstances can expect. It is my understanding that in the past where children have been born at 23-24 weeks are called micro premise and their survivability has increased due to medical advances but the survivability for before 24 weeks has not increased. Further concern is that those who have survived were brought into the world with great care nothing like the procedure of an abortion which would be damaging to them in itself. Those at 24 weeks are expected to have health problems however the earlier the procedure is done their development is far less complete.
Excellent question, but there are two other questions in your one large one. I'm a little less interested right now about the question "At what point?" because people are going to argue (as you've seen) over when the fetus should have human rights. Whatever point we end up agreeing on, that resolves the main question.
My question is at what point do we consider prolonging someone’s life as cruel and unusual.
As far as I know this threads issue is a theoretical one as another poster pointed out there are no cases of botched abortions where the fetus lived outside the womb.
Originally posted by timetothink
I am pro life,
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, faces eight counts of murder in the deaths of a woman following a botched abortion at his office, along with the deaths of seven other babies who,
prosecutors allege, were born alive following illegal late-term abortions and then were killed by severing their spinal cords with a pair of scissors.