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I thought what we said in class yesterday, or rather what we cleared up in class yesterday about a fetuses, embryos, and people in vegetative states undoubtedly being alive was fascinating. It got me thinking though. Because while I do agree they are irrefutably alive, I am still pro-choice and I still think that personally, if I were brain-dead, I wouldn't want to stick around waiting for science to come up with something that'll wake me up. But then, am I saying I'm okay with murder? If I think a fetus is alive and yet I am okay with abortion, what does that mean? I think that there are different...stages maybe? of being alive. So a fetus is alive, however...hmm. I've been sitting here for awhile trying to think of something to say to back myself up and I can't. It is a living thing. It has potential. If a mother can't care for it, there's always adoption. Maybe I'm pro-life after all. Maybe not though. Because while I don't think it's ever an option I would consider myself, I find it unfair to tell other women that they couldn't consider it. Their circumstances may be very different from mine. I think perhaps it needs to be taken on a case-by-case basis.
As does, I believe, being in a vegetative state. No one really ever decides beforehand whether or not theyd want to be taken off the machines, but since you can't really decide after...If someone had to choose for you, I think it would have to be based on the individual's circumstances. How long have they been brain-dead for? Is there any possibility they could become responsive again? But how long would it take? Think about it. What if you were out for years and years, and then woke up and everything had changed except you. That would be awful. I don't know. This seems like an enormously difficult question to speculate on, one that would have to be experienced firsthand. You'd never know what you'd do until you were in that situation.