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Date Posted: 17:31:24 08/17/00 Thu
Author: Barbo
Subject: Abortion

Greetings,
It's not my style nor my inclination to thump down the bible, so I won't. The bible doesn't enter into my thinking on abortion. Nor does any decision that the Supreme Court might bring down at any given moment. What I'm concerned with is basic human rights.
Before I begin to describe my positions here, I think it's prudent to define the terms I will use herein. They are "Life", "Human" and "Murder". Don't get ahead of me here... Life...what is it? What makes you or I alive? Is it the mere ability to ask the question itself? Is it a medical definition we should be concerned with? In my opinion and for all practical purposes, life is at the very least an ongoing process of growth, need and resolution. The Descartist view of "I think, therefor I am" need not necessarily enter into the discussion, so I will not speak of it further in the interest of board space. I am alive! Why, because I said so and the ball's in your court to disprove that assertion.
That being the case, I look around me and ask "what else is alive"? Well, anything that grows, needs and resolves. I think I've just about covered the "LIFE" aspect...althought it's still left to further debate. Take fire for instance. All right then, what about Human? What defines "human" kind? I tend to see this one as a no brainer. If it is created by the coupling of two humans, then it's human. Suffice it to say that I've never heard of two people conceiving a puppy...
That leads me to the definition of murder. How have we defined murder in our human society? Webster's dictionary defines murder as "the deliberate killing of a human being...the taking of human life". Of course we have generally agreed (in law) upon certain cases in which we are tolerant of murder. The first one considering self defense as a justification. The second is concerned with that of extreme emotional turmoil or mental defect, wherein the perpetrator of the act is not held to the same standards of responsibility as someone exhibiting ordinary self control or awareness. Those can get kinda sketchy to say the least. Ok, so we've now got to determine when life begins...right? WRONG! We can't prove when life begins. We have no means of calculating life on any kind of scale that is truly objective. Why? Because we have no point of reference other than that of this thing which we, as individuals call OUR life. We can never know when the spark (if you will) of life is created! So what do we do now? I don't know about you, but I'm willing to give a fetus the benefit of the doubt where the concept of life is concerned. Why? Because I was a fetus! So were you by the way...
The point isn't whether you can prove an unborn child is alive. The point is that you'd better damned well prove that it ISN'T! The logic is simple. The burden of proof is yours, since a fetus fits the basic criteria for living human being status (it grows, needs, is created by the coupling of two human beings and will inevitably resolve) and is, therefor protected under the rule of constitutional law. Until you show due cause to consider it anything other than a living human being, you'd better be willing to suffer the consequences (legally and morally) of deliberately committing murder when you have an abortion!
Now I have to mention that there are exceptions to every rule. In this case, clearly the exception of rape is important. If a woman is an unwilling participant in the sexual act which causes her to become pregnant, she should be under no obligation to care for the child, either within or outside of her womb. Why? Because her rights were violated to begin with. She had no say in the matter. I'm not saying I wouldn't try to convince her that killing the child will not make the pain of rape go away, but then again I'm not going to tell her to be compassionate about it either. At that point, she has every right to decide the fate of the child. You bible thumpers can tell your objections to your pastors.
The question of a mother's personal well being is also something to consider here. If having a baby may kill the woman, she again is the only person who can have a say in whether or not she allows the child to be born. No one should be forced to give their life for another!
Now let's look at the whole thing practically. The aforementioned exceptions not withstanding, any woman who wants an abortion can have one, whether it's legal or not. Does that mean it should be legal to begin with? Not in my opinion. Justifying the deliberate extermination of a human life just because it isn't able to defend or assert it's own rights as an individual, is selfish to the extreme and furthermore, contemptible.
I've heard the arguments... "she's just a kid herself"... "the father took off"..."she didn't know she could get pregnant the first time she had sex"...etc. So what? Nobody's life was every ruined by having a child. It's only the narrow view of people who look at life as some sort of fashion contest or money game who's lives are ruined. It has nothing to do with whether or not they have children. I've also heard the excuse that the kid would be better off not being born into a home where they are not wanted or loved by their parents. BULLSHIT! In the first place, maternal/paternal instinct takes over. Our natural drive to protect and nurture our young tends to override our selfishness once a child comes into the picture. And the poor kid who has to live with crappy parents isn't necessarily doomed to a crappy life either. Everybody has to live with pain and suffering. It may sound harsh, but it's a fact! Denying a person life because you think they may have a tough time in this world later on is utter foolishness.

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