Along with many others, of course, I’ve been thinking a lot about the abortion issue of late. And I’m reminded of the classic album by Graham Parker, Squeezing Out Sparks, as well as other personal and cultural reference points.
I think the impetus needs to be on the value of life, and veering from that is where we go wrong as a society. Each one of us are currently the recipient of this gift and we do it a dishonor when it's not placed on a higher pedestal, both from an individual aspect and from a community aspect.
Notice I describe life as a gift. No matter one's place in life, the fact remains it was given to them. One can believe it came from God, a fluke of the universe, or their parents, but no one decided it, no one earned it, and no one made it happen. It's a gift, for better or worse (a gift is sometimes hard to accept, like that fruitcake someone gives at Christmas).
Because no one did anything to get this life, that means the body which came with it was not their doing either. We all like to think our bodies are ours, but the truth of the matter is that no one did anything to get them, no one did anything to deserve them, and no one is going to keep them. Our bodies will be taken from us against our will and we do not have the power to stop it. This is not the embodiment of ownership (pun intended). This is an example of leasing. And just like any rental, making changes to its structure is going to have consequences. In this case, the consequences will be emotional, very potentially physical (dangerous), and societal.
In terms of societal, we maintain a less decent society when we think of life being expendable for our own personal needs and desires. Lo and behold, so many things in society point to that lack of decency right now, from school shootings, to gang violence, to human trafficking, and much more. When we normalize self over life and promote that throughout all culture, this has an outcome on a society.
That being said, there are going to be situations that the strongest human will struggle to endure. As important as life is, can we expect a woman to love and raise a child from rape? It would be wonderful if she could, and ideal. I'm sure it's happened and those women are exceptional. But, we are only human. That is something the best of us are not likely to succeed at. It's in this sense where we need to reconcile the respect for life with the judgement that would come with terminating a pregnancy due to rape, by checking judgement at the door for this and perhaps 1 or 2 other reasons. It's not a perfect combination, but one more worthy than a free-for-all based on career aspirations, higher value in self, and/or outright lack of responsibility (particularly when there is help for those who need it).
Herb, thanks for this. I really appreciate the measured reasoning you applied to this issue that strikes people very emotionally. Also, debate over abortion is next to useless, as it's strewn with clouding rhetoric that you wisely avoided. I would also like to add my two cents.
I think that the issue is an ethical one, and for me the bottom line is that abortion decisions are between the pregnant woman and her doctor, and sometimes also the father. It's not my business, and it's not the government's business, local, state or federal. But since abortion is front and center due to the Supreme Court's recent actions, allow me to make the legal case.
The Constitution applies to people born (or naturalized into) the United States. The key word here is "born." Unborn babies are simply not covered or protected by the Constitution. In my opinion, there should be no laws forbidding or permitting abortion, any more than there are laws telling you how many aspirin to take for a headache...Yes, I know, the life of a fetus would seem to be a qualitatively different health condition than a headache, but my point is that abortion is not under the purview of the Constitution, nor should it be in any state.
In the case of how we handle this as a society, I believe in a "market-based" solution. If the advocates against abortion truly cared about the lives of unwanted children, they would create a society where every unwanted child had all the opportunities (food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, etc.) to give them the best chance at a good and gainful life. This gets back to a point you alluded to ...capitalism is not structured to provide this. Nonetheless, if anti-abortion advocates were sincere in their beliefs, they would be working to create such a world where a woman with an unwanted pregnancy was assured of a quality future for her child should she choose to bring it to term. Thus the "need" to legislate against abortion would go away, wouldn't it? Let me know when we get there.
Until then, and I do get emotional...the anti-abortion folks need to mind their own business.
I think the impetus needs to be on the value of life, and veering from that is where we go wrong as a society. Each one of us are currently the recipient of this gift and we do it a dishonor when it's not placed on a higher pedestal, both from an individual aspect and from a community aspect.
Notice I describe life as a gift. No matter one's place in life, the fact remains it was given to them. One can believe it came from God, a fluke of the universe, or their parents, but no one decided it, no one earned it, and no one made it happen. It's a gift, for better or worse (a gift is sometimes hard to accept, like that fruitcake someone gives at Christmas).
Because no one did anything to get this life, that means the body which came with it was not their doing either. We all like to think our bodies are ours, but the truth of the matter is that no one did anything to get them, no one did anything to deserve them, and no one is going to keep them. Our bodies will be taken from us against our will and we do not have the power to stop it. This is not the embodiment of ownership (pun intended). This is an example of leasing. And just like any rental, making changes to its structure is going to have consequences. In this case, the consequences will be emotional, very potentially physical (dangerous), and societal.
In terms of societal, we maintain a less decent society when we think of life being expendable for our own personal needs and desires. Lo and behold, so many things in society point to that lack of decency right now, from school shootings, to gang violence, to human trafficking, and much more. When we normalize self over life and promote that throughout all culture, this has an outcome on a society.
That being said, there are going to be situations that the strongest human will struggle to endure. As important as life is, can we expect a woman to love and raise a child from rape? It would be wonderful if she could, and ideal. I'm sure it's happened and those women are exceptional. But, we are only human. That is something the best of us are not likely to succeed at. It's in this sense where we need to reconcile the respect for life with the judgement that would come with terminating a pregnancy due to rape, by checking judgement at the door for this and perhaps 1 or 2 other reasons. It's not a perfect combination, but one more worthy than a free-for-all based on career aspirations, higher value in self, and/or outright lack of responsibility (particularly when there is help for those who need it).
PS, I dig me my Graham Parker! Squeezing out Sparks and Stick to Me.
Herb, thanks for this. I really appreciate the measured reasoning you applied to this issue that strikes people very emotionally. Also, debate over abortion is next to useless, as it's strewn with clouding rhetoric that you wisely avoided. I would also like to add my two cents.
I think that the issue is an ethical one, and for me the bottom line is that abortion decisions are between the pregnant woman and her doctor, and sometimes also the father. It's not my business, and it's not the government's business, local, state or federal. But since abortion is front and center due to the Supreme Court's recent actions, allow me to make the legal case.
The Constitution applies to people born (or naturalized into) the United States. The key word here is "born." Unborn babies are simply not covered or protected by the Constitution. In my opinion, there should be no laws forbidding or permitting abortion, any more than there are laws telling you how many aspirin to take for a headache...Yes, I know, the life of a fetus would seem to be a qualitatively different health condition than a headache, but my point is that abortion is not under the purview of the Constitution, nor should it be in any state.
In the case of how we handle this as a society, I believe in a "market-based" solution. If the advocates against abortion truly cared about the lives of unwanted children, they would create a society where every unwanted child had all the opportunities (food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, etc.) to give them the best chance at a good and gainful life. This gets back to a point you alluded to ...capitalism is not structured to provide this. Nonetheless, if anti-abortion advocates were sincere in their beliefs, they would be working to create such a world where a woman with an unwanted pregnancy was assured of a quality future for her child should she choose to bring it to term. Thus the "need" to legislate against abortion would go away, wouldn't it? Let me know when we get there.
Until then, and I do get emotional...the anti-abortion folks need to mind their own business.