Ohio bans doctors from performing Down Syndrome abortions

[LadyForCamus]

A newborn infant is not conscious.  It can’t even distinguish between itself and its mother.  That is a scientific fact.

But a fetus can tell it's mothers voice according to you ?

Not to mention the fact the article you linked only studied infants at a later age. They themselves say they would do a further studies on infants 2 weeks old . Clearly implying this is not sweeping study at birth.

Not to mention the matter seems hardly as clear cut as your saying
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/us/baby-la...index.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25721916

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news...abies.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/a...ility.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/b...ath-skills

So your position seems incoherent.

My position isn’t incoherent, though I’ll admit my explanation of it was.  First, just to be perfectly clear, I consider myself pro-choice.  I am not advocating for a sweeping ban on abortions.  Data and facts on the subject speak for themselves.  

I think the science is pretty clear on the fact that a new born does not simply slide out of the birth canal and burst into the world with a sophisticated consciousness.  So, I stand by my statement that a newborn is hardly more conscious than a late term fetus because I think it’s a scientifically sound one.  And, if you’re going to provide evidence of rudimentary components of consciousness in utero, then you must realize that evidence would refute your own overly-simplistic argument of: “not born yet, not conscious, no problem.”

Human gestation, and the development of consciousness is a process.  It is true that a cascade of physiological reactions occur during labor and delivery which further stimulate the development of consciousness, but to describe a continuous process as binary; as on/off”, or, “not conscious/conscious” is a misrepresentation.   A fully conscious human represents the culmination of a series of gradations increasing in complexity over a period of time that spans from conception, all the way into infant and toddler hood.  So, when people say, ‘in the womb, not a person, born, instantly a person,’ or when they assert there is no meaningful biological difference between a blastocyst and a six month old fetus, I think this is an intellectually dishonest and scientifically inaccurate position.

My position...is that a conversation about where, as a society, we should draw that legal line, what we use as metrics to determine where we draw it, and why we’ve chosen those metrics, is a scientifically, morally, and logically justified conversation.  

I don’t agree with the position of some that viability outside the womb, and/or degree of consciousness, together or alone, are adequate criterion for determining the legality of a termination.  Just because a living thing is not fully conscious, doesn’t mean that it can’t experience. Just because a late term fetus is not self-aware doesn’t mean it cannot feel pain, distress, or comfort.

I’m not here to assert where we should draw that line in the sand.  I have no idea.  As a parent of two small children, I’m probably the last person who should be weighing in.  I’m just saying that I think people who assert it’s not a meaningful, worthwhile and warranted discussion to have, are wrong. 😛