Ireland legalizes the killing of the unborn

[Roy]

~lightbulb~ That must have been why Samson lost his strength when his hair was cut - God was angry at the loss of hair cells!

But, but, but ... circumcision?

[Cow Poke]

In the UK, parents get state funding for child support. Does the US have something similar?

Yes, there are welfare programs for people to get assistance for children.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-s...d-welfare.aspx

[lilpixieofterror]

He does.

If that was true; you nor him would make such stupid arguments. Your death cult really requires a lot out of you though, huh?

[lilpixieofterror]

The US is pretty much the only country in the world that doesn't have paid parental leave by law (some employers offer it). I don't think the US generally has government-provided child support payments... to them "child support" refers to the father making payments. Though they do have the "Head Start" program which gives support to low-income families with pre-school kids. But they don't seem to have nearly as much support for families with children in general as the UK or NZ does. Yet again, the "US pro-family" right does not appear to actually support policies that benefit families, unlike the left.

And yeah, the lack of financial support for families in the US probably motivates quite a few people to seek abortions who otherwise wouldn't have. But the US right doesn't even seem to be interested in easy policy methods to reduce abortion rates like good sex education (they seem to prefer abstinence-only education even though it leads to more abortions), and the making of contraception easily available.

That right folks, Starlight has zero evidence for his claims, but makes wild speculation and pretends it is fact.

[Roy]

If that was true; you nor him would make such stupid arguments. Your death cult really requires a lot out of you though, huh?

I'm not in a death cult. Go peddle your lies on some-one else.

[lilpixieofterror]

I'm not in a death cult. Go peddle your lies on some-one else.

[Roy]

I'm not in a death cult. Go peddle your lies on some-one else.

[lilpixieofterror]

I'm not in a death cult. Go peddle your lies on some-one else.

[Mountain Man]

I'm almost certain he does know it and that he's just trolling us. He can't refute my original argument, so he and Ignorant Roy are trying to confuse the issue by equivocating and feigning ignorance.

[Roy]

Are you trying to defend abortion with poorly thought out arguments while attacking others for not getting a detail correct?

No.

[Mountain Man]

Are you trying to defend abortion with poorly thought out arguments while attacking others for not getting a detail correct?

Thing is, I didn't actually get any details wrong. I used the term "life", which scientifically speaking has a fairly well-defined meaning and is used interchangeably with the terms "life-form" and "organism". It's also a fact that there is a clear distinction between something being "alive" and meeting the scientific definition of "life". Your skin cells are alive, at least in their early stage, but they are not life since they do not have the attributes that science uses to describe life (they don't organize, adapt, self-sustain, metabolize, respond to stimuli, etc.). A skin cell is part of an organism, but it is not an organism in and of itself.

Dimbulb claims to have a science degree, so either he knows this and is trying to score rhetorical points by playing dumb, or his degree is only suitable for lining the bottom of a bird cage.

[Roy]

Thing is, I didn't actually get any details wrong.
...
[skin cells] don't organize, adapt, self-sustain, metabolize, respond to stimuli, etc.

Ho-hum.

Anyone got a barrel of fish?

[Cow Poke]

Ho-hum.

Anyone got a barrel of fish?

Fish don't swim in barrels. They swim in schools.

[Mountain Man]

Ho-hum.

Anyone got a barrel of fish?

Now fish, unlike skin cells, actually are organisms.

[Cow Poke]

Yes, there are welfare programs for people to get assistance for children.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-s...d-welfare.aspx

It's actually a very complicated issue, as noted in this NYTimes article.

Welfare has often been accused of encouraging poor unwed mothers to have more babies because they get additional funds for additional children.
Some states attempt to limit that, to discourage additional children born into poverty families.
It is suspected that this would increase the abortion rate, as pregnancies would still occur, but no additional funding would be available.

So, it's complicated.