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{"id":3766,"date":"2016-01-27T17:14:01","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T23:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=3766"},"modified":"2016-01-28T11:47:59","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T17:47:59","slug":"do-you-believe-in-natural-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/01\/do-you-believe-in-natural-rights.html","title":{"rendered":"Do you believe in natural rights?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"Declaration_Pg1of1_AC\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

The Declaration of Independence<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andre B., in a comment on my\u00a0 \u201cpro-choice-ism\u201d post<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cpersons acquire rights because the societies they are a part of decide to grant them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What about you, dear reader? \u00a0Do you believe in \u201cnatural rights\u201d \u2013 that is, that certain rights are \u201cendowed by [our] Creator\u201d? \u00a0If so, how expansive are they? \u00a0Or do you believe that societies simply determine what rights their people are or aren\u2019t granted, and if you happen to live in a society that grants fewer such rights than another society, well then, too bad for you?<\/p>\n

UPDATE: \u00a0A quick clarification: \u00a0here\u2019s a fuller quote from Andre: \u00a0\u201c[why persons acquire rights] seems fairly simple\u00a0\u201c(at least in practice): persons acquire rights because the societies they are a part of decide to grant them.\u201d \u00a0Which makes this a two-part question, if you differentiate between \u201cin principle\u201d and \u201cin practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"