First of all, take a deep breath. Secondly, recognize this for what it is: An academic exercise. I've heard ethicists trying to justify the Holocaust but that doesn't mean they favor it. This is what ethicists do for a living; they ask questions. By seeking to expand or limit the definition of a "person," their arguments clarifiy other real life ethical situations. Not that babies already out of the womb should be murdered. Again, they are not arguing that position. But rather, they are presenting hypothetical arguments for discussion that might apply to other ethical decisions. This is about form, not content. It's about the shape of ethical arguments, not their substance. In this case, it's a silly game played by those who aren't much interested in academic freedom as much as they are in their own personal aggrandizement. I can't believe that the authors of the paper didn't realize the firestorm of controversy that would erupt. They easily could have taken a different...(Read Full Post)