More Abortion Ethics...

From: Michael Cule <mikec_at_room3b.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 00:25:35 +0000


Trotsky he say:
> The geas only applies to sentient beings, IIRC. Assuming that a being
>can't be sentient if it doesn't have a soul*, the question becomes 'at what
>point in ontogeny does the soul enter the body'? The answer to this may well
>vary depending on culture, so that the Erissan healers of Dara Happa or the
>Xemelans of the West have different opinions to the CAs of Dragon Pass.
> I'd guess that the Heortling answer is 'when the baby draws its first
>breath', which implies that abortion is not necessarily a problem for them,
>magically speaking.

In our own world, answers have varied from 'the instant of conception' (which strikes me as unlikely if twins don't share the same soul) to 'thirty days after birth' in those cultures that go big for exposing the unwanted. (Query: does this ever happen on Glorantha?)

Meself I'd say that it isn't necessarily a matter of theological debate, given the availability of Soul Sight and similar effects. At the risk of being Gregged, I'd opt (both for realism and MGF) for saying that babies (broo or otherwise) get a soul sometime after conception and before birth, thus requiring checks if you're going to use a CA spell to resolve the whole thing.

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