Those of us who are forced to make ethical and moral decisions without the aide of “divine” wisdom often envy those who have that crutch. We find that making such decisions is frequently a matter of where to draw the line. Few would argue that taking a human life without just cause is wrong. We are forced to draw a line between what is just cause and what isn’t. Where you draw that line will determine your opinion on capitol punishment. Even if you believe in capitol punishment you have to draw a line to determine what is a capitol crime and what isn’t.
The abortion issue too is all about drawing lines. The first line that has to be drawn is when does a mass of protoplasm become a human? The official policy of the Roman Catholic Church is on one end of the gray scale; it is a sin to interfere with conception. On the other end many eastern religions believe you are not a human until the spirit enters you when you take your first breath. In my opinion any lines in between those two views are rather arbitrary. I suspect many laws banning late term abortions were instituted simply because in the last 2 or 3 months the fetus starts looking like a human, an arbitrary decision. If you are pro-choice I think you have to draw the line at “first breath”. I really don’t buy the “woman’s right to chose” argument, it’s far too simplistic. There were times that I might have wanted to abort the life of my rebellious teenage son but I don’t think many would argue that I had the “right” to do that. Now that he has turned out to be a wonderful and responsible adult I’m certainly glad that I didn’t. So, it comes down to where you draw the line but it doesn’t end there. Did you draw the line where you did because you actually believe that’s where the line should be or because it was convenient or politically correct to draw it there? It’s becoming fairly obvious why religion is so attractive to many isn’t it? Ethical and moral decisions are never easy when you are on your own.
I remain pro-choice but remain unsure of my motivations.
Though not necessarily where I stand on the abortion issue, this was a very interesting take, Ron, and also quite honest in how you looked within.
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