Maximizing Moral Virtue

[bennyboy]

I'm assuming an evolutionary motivational mechanism here-- that instincts tend toward genetic fitness.  A baby's not intrinsically cute, but enough people say "Squeee" when they see a baby that it's relatively hard for baby-spiking hobbyists to get to babies.

This has its problems too, though.  People who don't know how Google works think "Squeee" when they think about an embryo, even though in reality it's really not squee-worthy until about 9 months after conception.

That's why pro-lifers hate pro-choicers.  Nobody wants to imagine a scalpel and a vacuum cleaner when they're halfway through a good "Squee" about an imaginary baby-that-is-not-yet.

The arguments against abortion that I've read don't mention cuteness as a factor. 

To have an honest debate, it's important to be able to restate your opponent's argument in terms he would agree with.

Not if the opponent's terms are themselves dishonest.

I'm perfectly capable of detailing a pro-lifer's argument in their terms.  However, since pro-lifers' terms are, in my estimation, couched to bypass rational argument rather than to engage in it, then accepting them at face value means either carrying on a farcical debate, or choosing not to have one at all.