Murder, Abortion or Practicing Medicine w/o License?

[Lurker]

This guy (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=825252) got life in prison for helping his girlfriend end her pregnancy. What do you think the guy was guilty of and why?

1) nothing
2) murder
3) a legitimate but risky abortion technique
4) practicing medicine without a license
5) ??

[Philboid Studge]

5) Stupidity

Do you think the girl should have been punished? ('Erica Basoria, 17, acknowledged asking Flores to help end her pregnancy; she could not be prosecuted because of her legal right to abortion.')

[Evil_Mage_Ra]

Mostly 2) murder

My personal view on abortion is that I'd rather err on the side of letting the child live. I believe that if a woman finds out she's pregnant and decides to keep the baby, then she has passed a "point of no return" and should bring the child to term, unless doing so would present a significant risk to her life.

[Tenspace]

He could have received the death penalty for helping a teenage girl end her pregnancy. :rolleyes:

she regretted not getting an abortion and started jogging and hitting herself to induce a miscarriage. When her efforts failed, she said she asked her boyfriend to help.

To think that a guy is going to spend sixty or more years in jail, until he dies, for a stupid mistake he made as a teen. She asked him to help, and she had already tried to kill the fetus, but she walks away.

What's wrong in Texas?

:P

[Philboid Studge]

This is probably the appropriate thread to ask this question: what's the difference between killing and murder?

The dictionary isn't much help. From m-w:

kill
1 : to deprive one of life

murder
1 : to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice

So, the difference rests on whether it's legal? (The 'premeditated malice' bit strikes me as just window dressing)

[NihilistThug]

If she was willing and he was willing no problem.
Medical licensing is retarded.

[GodlessHeathen]

Medical licensing is retarded.
Until someone needs to perform surgery on you. . .

I mean, really. . .what are you, 14 years old?

[NihilistThug]

Medical licensing is retarded.
Until someone needs to perform surgery on you. . .

I mean, really. . .what are you, 14 years old?
Do you enjoy your total ignorance of market functions? You apparently don't have any idea how much more efficient, reliable and inexpensive private certification and review systems are (like Home Depot certified workers or Consumer Report). And if you want to practice medicine without any certification and someone wants to go to you that's your business.

The problem is you don't know anything about economics and, like most people, you probably don't want to. Just like the Christians you're all living in the idolatry of the State.

[ocmpoma]

See, Thug is saying that medical liscencing is retarded, but medical certification is fine. In other words: Criteria established and monitored by the government are ridiculous. Criteria established and monitored by corporations are fine.

[schemanista]

The problem is you don't know anything about economics and, like most people, you probably don't want to. Just like the Christians you're all living in the idolatry of the State.
Two words: tobacco industry.

[GodlessHeathen]

See, Thug is saying that medical liscencing is retarded, but medical certification is fine. In other words: Criteria established and monitored by the government are ridiculous. Criteria established and monitored by corporations are fine.
Exactly. And private corporations always have my best interests in mind. . .:rolleyes:

Not that the government does either, but all corporations give a crap about is making a buck. With the certification Thug described, I can forsee companies certifying anyone whose check clears.

As an explanation to my post above - NihilistThug's posts tend to grate on me. He throws generalizations and ad hominem attacks around and expects people to take him seriously.

[peepnklown]

She was already trying to end her pregnancy and she asked for help (so what does she get?) I don’t think he could be punished at all. A fetus is not a human being! Might as well charge all women for murder by having their period (even if its biology)