The Plunk said:
This kind of thing is probably very common in 3rd world countries, but when it happens in a place like America, people suddenly treat it like it's something that never happens.
The woman should have got an abortion long before the baby was "sentient" so to speak.
However, and I'm gonna be hated for saying this, I don't think this guy should be charged as harshly as if he'd killed a grown child or adult. It's only a newborn baby it's not got any real feelings or emotions the same as, say, a 1 year old does.
Believe it or not, I can kind of see where you're coming from.
We tend to get very attached and emotional (reasonably so) when the death of a human, of any kind, is involved. But if you want to take that to its full extreme, truly considering death in every scenario, think about the millions of sperm killed in every ejaculation. In a way, every one of them is human. Think of the aborted babies, done so to try to avoid causing pain to a number of people. Think of every animal hunted down by a predator and torn apart for meat with its heart still beating. Think of all the starving children in Africa who die by the minute.
If you REALLY want to consider death in all its forms, you'd be thinking on that a long time, and wouldn't be able to sleep.
The only logical reduction I take to keep our sanity is that we only grieve specifically for the loss of something we value. When a child is born, we see potential; not instantaneous value in them. We become proud of their growth, their accomplishments; learning to walk, learning to speak, learning to read and write - when they grow older, their intelligence, their creativity, everything that makes them unique. That's why when a teenager is killed crossing the street by a texting driver, we are horribly ashamed. He was on his way to becoming great, and had already accomplished a lot, made friends, etc. Many people had sacrificed to ensure this man would succeed in life, and now all of that is cut short.
Unfortunately, I have to say that it seems to me like life, on its own, is not very precious. It takes one solid screwing, then nearly a year of being careful with one's womb. It's what we do with life that makes it valuable.
I would not go to any extreme lengths to defend this man; he knows what he did, and should certainly spend serious time. Just trying to bring up something to think about. Unless the baby suffered, I wouldn't see a very strong difference between this and abortion.
