(July 5, 2014 at 1:06 am)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote: No, I most certainly do not think all rights are equally important. I happen to place the inviolable nature of a person's body, mind, and conscience at the top of the hierarchy.
Great. So when there is a conflict in rights among those three, what kind of solution do you propose?
Alright, a couple examples.
A fundamentalist parent's conscience may compel him to make sure his child understands that evolution is a lie and that hell awaits those who don't believe in Jesus. In this regard, he has the right to go with his conscience to ensure that his child doesn't end up straying from the path of "good". But what about the child's right to not have his mind clouded with fear of hell (which may be argued to be abuse, by the way) and rejection of modern science? The parent might say "it's my right to teach my child what is necessary to ensure he be a Christian like me".
So there is a conflict of rights. Which right should you support? The right to go with one's conscience? Or the right to not be indoctrinated with religious thinking?
A non-religious example:
A father requests his children that, if he should ever end up having an incurable and chronically painful disease in the future, that he be allowed to undergo euthanasia.
Years later, it happens. The father is struck with such a disease. But neither the children nor the doctors in the area want to give what he asked for because of conscience. Even though the father desperately wants his life to end.
Which right to support now?