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0 pointsrayiner4y ago0 comments

Abortion is far more serious. Abortion always directly ends a human life. Not getting vaccinated creates at most an indirect increase in the probability of other people getting sick and dying—probably a minuscule fraction of one life. Many decisions we make every day have similar statistical effects—taking an international flight which kills people through pollution, or buying products the production of which creates heavy metal poisoning in third world countries.

What is the incremental increase in covid deaths attributable to one person choosing not to get vaccinated, accounting for the fact that vaccination decreases but doesn’t eliminate the chances of passing on covid? What’s that compared to the incremental deaths caused by other activities?

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tptacek4y ago

Doesn't that analysis depend a whole lot on a very complicated metaphysical question of when a "human life" begins? The moment of conception? That's a fringe belief and the only answer to the question that makes your argument cohere perfectly.

rayinerOP4y ago

I think it’s a purely scientific question with a simple answer. After conception, the organism is plainly alive. Like if we found it on Mars we would say we found life on Mars. It’s also human according to its genetics—which is generally how we decide what species something happens to be.

I don’t know why you’d call that a “fringe belief.” Fully 38% of the public holds that view: https://www.wbur.org/npr/730183531/poll-majority-want-to-kee....

I suspect when most people assert that “life doesn’t begin at conception” they’re not referring to the literal beginning of human life, but the metaphysical question of when “human life that justifies legal protection” begins. That I agree is complex.

akvadrako4y ago

Science cannot provide definitions, like of what consititutes life.

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