[Frayed Knot]

Originally Posted by Nick M

How do you draw that conclusion?

The moral question of whether it's OK to end a life has to do with the individual and his sense of self, his consciousness. It also depends on the others who feel connected to that life. This doesn't just apply to humans either.

I don't feel I've done wrong if I smash an ant, because its consciousness is not at a level that concerns me. A first-trimester abortion, similarly, is killing something that does not have a consciousness - probably even less than that of an ant.

Originally Posted by Stripe

Evolution is about natural selection of those more likely to reproduce. There's only one means I know of by which homos produce more homos.

By saying that the Theory of Evolution is opposed to SSM, you were taking an observation of what *is* and jumping to a conclusion of what ought to be. The story of how evolution shaped life on Earth is full of suffering and cruelty. That's how it *is*. That doesn't tell us how we should act. Science doesn't do that.