Quote:Sorry, but what is it exactly that stops us from granting rights to members of a certain species? In any case, as a Libertarian I hold that rights are not "granted"; they are inherent.The human imagine is what legislates what is a "right" and what isnt. There are no inherent rights. We, as a society and as individuals, frequently intrude on others.
I ask that you show me evidence that the "right to life" is inherent in this universe.
Quote:"You cannot infringe on rights if someone is fundamentally incapable of using them."Which is only an ideal. The concepts of "negative" or "positive" rights do not help the topic either, being more of a sophestry of ideals than an inherency.
I ask again that you show me evidence that these "rights" are inherent in the universe.
Quote:Interesting. I'd argue that people that are alive are very actively using their right to life. So how does that fit into your argument? If by "incapable" you mean not actively aware of them at a certain point in time, then do you support killing people who are asleep? I mean, people who are sleep aren't actively aware of their rights unless they are lucid dreaming. I highly doubt you support the killing of people because they are asleep, so please explain your position more.This is just comparing apples and oranges on your and his side of the argument.
Quote:People in comas can wake up; they are still human, and they still deserve rights. Whenever I talk about this issue with people it sickens me at how twisted people can take the issue of rights. It's always picking and choosing, placing some people's lives as more worthy than others. Really quite a shocking attitude to have, and I think you'd feel differently if it were you who was going to be in the coma.But you are also a hardcore capitalist Tiberius. What if the family is unable to pay the medical bills to keep this coma patient alive? My brother just went through it with his most recent daughter. The cost was 10,000 dollars per day just to keep her alive. She died and my brother is stuck with several hundred grand in debt for which they will take his house from him if he defaults on the debt. So what would you do in this situation? Saddle the debt upon the tax payer or the family? You are a minarchist Tiberius, you want just enough government to keep the capitalist system going and to protect property rights (minarchism in a nut shell). Capitalism, in this sense, by default, picks and chooses who is more worthy than others. Obviously the one with the most money is worthy of continued life...have you thought your views through? It sounds to me that you may find them questionable. A person who holds to minarchy would very clearly and quickly have an answer to this situation. "If the person cannot afford the healthcare, then that person will die"