The idea is that a woman repeatedly getting pregnant and then killing the child is putting a lot of strain on society, both in terms of resources and in terms of comfort. We allow a lot of privileges for pregnant women and new mothers, with the expectation that they’re trying to bring new people into society, something we encourage.
I’d think that that the bulk of the resource cost of a newborn is the physiological cost (and medical risks) the mother endured during pregnancy. The general societal cost seems small in comparison.
Sure, that seems true. Note that Bakkot didn’t say that the costs to everyone else outweighed the costs to the mother, merely that the costs to everyone else were also substantial.
This point is less important. The idea is that a woman repeatedly getting pregnant and then killing the child is putting a lot of strain on society, both in terms of resources and in terms of comfort. We allow a lot of privileges for pregnant women and new mothers, with the expectation that they’re trying to bring new people into society, something we encourage. If you’re killing your kid out of sadism, you’re not doing this, and society will have to adjust how all pregnant women are treated.
We already treat accidental pregnant women basically the same as those who planned their pregnancy. Clearly we should distinguish and discriminate between them rather than lump them into the “pregnant woman” category (I take a lighter tone in some of my other posts here to provoke thought, but I’m dead serious about this).
Also many people are way to stuck in their 21st century Eurocentric frame of mind to comprehend the personhood argument for infanticide properly. Let me help:
This point is less important. The idea is that a woman repeatedly getting pregnant and then aborting the child is putting a lot of strain on society, both in terms of resources and in terms of comfort. We allow a lot of privileges for pregnant women and new mothers, with the expectation that they’re trying to bring new people into society, something we encourage. If you’re killing your fetus out of sadism, you’re not doing this, and society will have to adjust how all pregnant women are treated.
I don’t understand your reasoning for either of those dot points.
I’d think that that the bulk of the resource cost of a newborn is the physiological cost (and medical risks) the mother endured during pregnancy. The general societal cost seems small in comparison.
Sure, that seems true. Note that Bakkot didn’t say that the costs to everyone else outweighed the costs to the mother, merely that the costs to everyone else were also substantial.
We already treat accidental pregnant women basically the same as those who planned their pregnancy. Clearly we should distinguish and discriminate between them rather than lump them into the “pregnant woman” category (I take a lighter tone in some of my other posts here to provoke thought, but I’m dead serious about this).
Also many people are way to stuck in their 21st century Eurocentric frame of mind to comprehend the personhood argument for infanticide properly. Let me help: