Some interesting questions/quirks regarding the abortion debate have come up recently, with South Dakota voting to make it virtually illegal.
- The SD law makes abortion a class 5 felony, equivalent to carrying a half-pound of marijuana or running two internet gambling sites (why two - don't ask me - ask SD)
If abortion is murder, why is it not equated as such, penalty-wise.
- And that penalty is for the doctor performing the abortion, not for the woman requesting it.
Again, if abortion is murder, why isn't the woman at the very least, an accomplice?
- If you walk by an abortion clinic that is on fire, rush in the door and find a two year old and a liquid nitrogen container filled with dozens of frozen embryos, if you can only save the child or the canister, which would it be?
I'm not for abortion, but what I see from those that oppose it outright is nothing by way of programs to help reduce it. During the Clinton administration the number of abortions dropped nearly every year. Under Bush they've gone up. Why? Economics mostly. People were better off and more hopeful under Clinton. Under Bush the economy is stagnant, wages are dropping and the world is bleak and filled with fear. To just say no but provide no support or alternative solutions is as stupid as abstinence-only education. Might as well just say good luck.
I think you need to provide a support structure for those at risk of choosing abortion (ignoring those that have them for serious medical reasons), and give them as many options as possible to get them to see the baby through to term.
Another unrelated noodling....
Ever wonder what miracle determined that Muslims worship on Friday, Jews on Saturday and Christians on Sunday? Seems like they've each chosen to pee on one particular tree to mark their territory.
The Jews were there first, and given the fact that most calendars run from Sunday to Saturday, Saturday as that so-called seventh day of rest, seems the most logical. Not sure how Christians latched onto Sunday, although clearly they may have just decided to differentiate themselves from the Jews. And then along came the Muslims, and voila - Friday.
Odd and possibly hilariously shallow in its logic.
8 comments:
So...the abortion topic. One that I don't get into a lot, as it puts me at odds with the vast majority of my liberal brethren.
You throw in some interesting ethical brain twisters regarding the subject, but I think that's one of those weird but perhaps necessary aspects of keeping a democratic society functioning...hmmm....kind of akin to how I personally feel that the way animals are raised in our country for slaughter are by and large inhumane, yet I don't go jumping around the Midwest opening stockades and setting the animals free.
Even people who have a passionate view about a subject are expected, in this country, to conduct themselves within the rules of law and decorum. Indeed, some people (whether PETA, or pro-life people) DO find themselves unable to restrain themselves from taking matters into their own hands. Frustrated by what they see is an ignorant majority view & slow or stagnant legislative process, they take action, often with very destructive, even violent results. Tell me-how are they viewed by society? Has that generally been proven to be a successful way of changing hearts and minds?
The bone that was tossed this way was, "If you really believe abortion is murder, why don't you act like it?" I hope I added to the discourse.
I could throw the whole debate back at the pro-choice crowd and say, "Why do you refuse-just simply REFUSE to acknowledge that people on the other side might actually view a fetus as a living being?" All their arguments, to me, seem to be based upon a premise that pro-lifers are contending something that they don't truly believe. How condescending!
I think it's an interesting debate, but like so many topics in politics, each camp refuses to step outside their own world view and consider WHY others might hold the view that they do.
On a side note: I think if the pro-lifers really wanted to make progress, they'd give ground on their ridiculous-RIDICULOUS-fear of sex and deal with how to decrease unwanted pregnancies in the first place (in ways other than abstinence). Fund adoption services, universal pregnancy & delivery insurance, and so on. A lot of women might actually consider carrying a baby to term if they weren't scared out of their fucking minds. Out and out outlawing something that a majority of the public supports is a recipe for disaster.
I think those brain teasers are important in resolving the issue in a meaningful and appropriate way. I think that limiting the availability of abortions while simultaneously providing as many alternative opportunities is perhaps the most painfully obvious solution.
You can't say abortion should be illegal and then not provide a punishment. That's a chickenshit stance. Either you believe it's illegal or not. If you believe it, be willing to say that people should be punished for engaging in that behavior. And it has to include the mother, period. Christ, we put people in jail for life for 3 pot possessions.
It seems all a piece with a childish notion that closing your eyes will make the bad thing go away. There are consequences to actions and if people are not willing to face up to them they're living in a fantasy world.
It also seems to be part of a Republican world that is completely devoid of reality.
Zero abortions is a laudable and desirable goal, but you have to provide a way to get there and understand what the consequences of that process may be.
As I said, it's much like the abstinence only sex-education. Keeping teens from having sex until marriage is perhaps another laudable goal (though I am a firm believer in living together prior to marriage in almost all situations - another debate) but is so completely unrealistic as to be possibly harmful. Teens will likely have sex, and providing them with as much information about all the options to keep them from doing permanent harm to themselves is a better way.
Like always, of course, we're pretty close on this, though we might differ a little on how we perceive the fetus.
Perceive the Fetus
Could be a band or an album.
We may also differ somewhat on how we perceive the uterus.
Indeed. It also just struck me that it is not exactly the best time to approach a guy about the topic of abortion: five days following his discovery that his wife is pregnant.
No insult or harm intended - just been in the news lately.
No insult or harm taken. But a particular fetus is foremost on my mind these days, and it would be almost impossible (almost inhuman, it would seem) for me to perceive anything other than a little, rice-sized human being.
Post a Comment