> prefer debates be governed by [cherry-picked data] instead of whose argument is the most "humane"

To be overly generous, that's a false dichotomy.

There's a time and place for humane arguments and, in the absence of complete "data" (whatever THAT means), that may be all you have. At the end of the day, we're all emotional creatures and this often justifiably dominates considerations of human affairs. Not everything can be boiled down to problems in first order logic.