[Aune]

Certainly people who suffer a miscarriage when trying to have children suffer deeply. It is clear then that they lost more than some human tissue.

Also if you beat a woman causing her to misscarry, then we look upon that quite a lot harsher than if no miscarriage occured.

In general we don't tend to value human life or rights when it is inconvenient to do so though.

[maratc]

> Also if you beat a woman causing her to miscarry

An interesting note: even in the Code of Hammurabi there's a provision for that, and that's from about 4,000 years ago.

[IncRnd]

Today I learned that there are actually six provisions in the Code of Hammurabi for that, covering different effects to the mother and (according that system) standing of the mother!

  209. If a man has struck a free woman with child, and has caused
       her to miscarry, he shall pay ten shekels for her miscarriage.
  210. If that woman die, his daughter shall be killed.
  211. If by a blow he has caused a plebian's daughter to have a
       miscarriage, he shall pay five shekels of silver.
  212. If that woman has died, he shall pay one-half mina of silver.
  213. If he struck a freeman's female slave and has caused her to
       have a miscarriage, he shall pay two shekels of silver.
  214. If that female slave has died, he shall pay one-third mina of
       silver.

[maratc]

This also shows how women at that time were treated as "glorified property":

> If that woman die, his daughter shall be killed.

You damaged my property — your property will be equally damaged. Justice!

Women wouldn't be treated as equal to men for another 3,500 years or so.

[alexvoda]

Also, does that mean that according to the Code of Hammurabi, a man without any daughter, can kill as many free women as he pleases without any consequence?

[p1mrx]

  283. If a man be an insufferable pedant, he shall be put to death.

[alexvoda]

Well played

[IncRnd]

I don't think too many people tried that "crazy amazing loophole that the government doesn't want you to know about but can make you rich".

Looking at the rest of the code, it seems this sort of action is doomed by the adage, "an eye for an eye" - where a blind man might lost a hand instead of an eye.

[alexvoda]

Let us apreciate that we are not bound by the Code of Hammurabi, and strengthen our resolve to not move in that direction.