The Civil Discussion Thread

Fox Mulder said:
I think the firing squad should be a voluntary option for all criminals convicted of capital crimes.
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Okay so this is slightly less serious but if I'm going to be executed firing squad is how I want it. Easily superior to hanging, electric chair, euthanasia.

And it's arguably the most humane method,
2257 said:
is life inherently valuable
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I like to think that it is. If life isn't inherently valuable, then how do we define a valuable life over a worthless one? Who's going to define that? What happens to the people whose lives are devalued?
 
pluto sucks

I see your point, but I think what was actually meant is that human life is inherently valuable.
 
Yes, but why then support capital punishment if you think human life is inherently valuable?

Also, I take pains to make the distinction between a human thing and a person. Just because something is alive doesn't make it worth preserving. A fetus is a clump of cells with no brain activity despite being, maybe, a developing human. The woman biologically has most of the control of the fate of this entity, so I think it would make sense if the laws respect that, especially if the woman cannot or does not want to support a child in the future.

This is the reason I oppose capital punishment but support abortion. One involves a person capable of thought and emotion (or had been if the person is brain-damaged; the person probably has relatives and friends though), the other involves a potential, but still simplistic human entity that is mostly dependent on the woman to survive.
 
Because those humans took other humans' lives. Granted, an effective system of life imprisonment without parole would be better (and even possibly cheaper), but while that could work in more developed countries (to call them somehow), in countries with not such effective jail systems, there are often escapes, bribes to get someone out, and the list goes one.

The difference is the murderer has committed a major crime, a fetus' has done nothing.
 
Well, the saying goes, "if an eye for an eye works, everyone would be blind". The human took other humans' lives, but this person probably has familial and friend ties, and I think it's a bit tragic as well for someone who has the urge to kill other people. Considering that most people who are executed have economic troubles, it further exemplifies it. Finally, the executioners themselves get hallucinations and even bouts of PTSD so it's an emotional burden for everyone involved. I think it's more of a psychological burden than abortion.

In poorer countries, I'd advocate a more effective government and more effective jail systems rather than capital punishment, but I understand that that may be much more difficult to achieve because it's pretty much an overhaul.
 
Yes, we can define lives as more valuable than others, definitely. If I had the choice between saving my mother or a stranger, I would save my mom without any shadow of a doubt, and I wouldn't expect anyone to question me. In my opinion, it is indeed entirely possible and justifiable to choose between two lives; but, when applied directly to abortion, it isn't always one or the other, so when both can live (and it doesn't fall in the exceptions that can't be mentioned), I think it's entirely justifiable to ban abortions.
 
Fox Mulder said:
I think the firing squad should be a voluntary option for all criminals convicted of capital crimes.
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Fun Fact Herman Goering killed himself partially because they refused to execute him by firing squad like a soldier.
 
Hobbes said:
Yes, we can define lives as more valuable than others, definitely. If I had the choice between saving my mother or a stranger, I would save my mom without any shadow of a doubt, and I wouldn't expect anyone to question me. In my opinion, it is indeed entirely possible and justifiable to choose between two lives; but, when applied directly to abortion, it isn't always one or the other, so when both can live (and it doesn't fall in the exceptions that can't be mentioned), I think it's entirely justifiable to ban abortions.
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But what about the conditions after birth? Life might be valuable, but everyone who grows up deserves a quality life, right? If the couple wants an abortion to alleviate the huge burden of having a child or wait until later to have a child, wouldn't that be a wise choice?