Quote from dgabriel:
A lot of men live under such harsh restrictions already 777, in bad marriages. But the point is an excellent one and the others you made are important.
1. The abortion rights issue is one that touches upon conceptions of such fundamental rights, the seemingly inviolable right to one's own body, the right to life, of a fetus, viable or not. Surf's argument is somewhat flawed. Viability was the basis for certain of the Supreme court's decision as they marked the 24 week point in gestation, the stage of viablity outside the mother as deemed by the medical establishment, as the beginning of personhood for the fetus and the protective rights so accorded it.
Thus under Roe V. Wade ( I think, maybe this was decided later) the 6 month point made abortion illegal.
2. However, this is unsatisfying to many and outrageous to some since the right to life in this case seems to be arbitrary and illogical. If the fetus can't survive ex-utero it is okay to abort but if it can survive it cannot be aborted. This counterintuitive idea compounds one of the real tragic elements to the entire issue, the lack of defense by the unborn. The other tragic element is forcing the full term pregnancy and condemning a child to be born to a mother which does not want it.
3. There seem to be inconsistencies on both sides of the aisle. The majority of pro-lifers support capital punishment and the majority of pro-choice oppose capital punishment. If the sanctity of life is to be respected as a fundamental precept, then capital punishment must be opposed. This is the view of the Catholic church.
4. There are fundamental rights at stake and significant social policy questions in a world of diminishing resources and extreme population growth. There are 6 billion people and in 40 years there will be 10 billion. I recall in another thread that someone noted that the Chinese have a cost effective method of dispatching with its drug dealers: they are shot in the head. The Chinese government also encourages abortion as a population control.
5. The issues of diminishing natural resources against a growing population in my opinion will eventually prevail over the fundamental questions.
6. Much of the heat in the abortion rights issue can be removed by harnessing and promoting the advancing medical and pharmeceutical technologies that can more safely easily and effectively prevent pregnancy. The problem here is that the pro-life lobby has been effective in staving off the introduction of new birth control methods, several of which have been developed in Europe. For the pro-life movement, the issue is not just about protecting the unborn, it is about opposing lifestyle choices that threaten a sense of social order.
