I don't believe that abortions are good, and I would never have one, but I don't think we should impose our views on the rest of society.
This is a very common argument against the pro-life movement and a favorite of politicians. The two versions of this argument that I most often hear deal with personal opinion imposed on government and religious opinion imposed on government. These two versions are very similar, and they tie together very nicely when we compare abortion to other atrocities. Slavery is a perfect example.
It's the year 1800, and you're talking with a friend about slavery. They say to you, "I don't believe that slavery is right, and I would never own one, but I do not think that we should impose our views on the rest of society." Looking at the issue from this angle changes the whole picture.
As for the argument of imposing one's religious views on government, lets again look back to the 1800’s and examine the movement to abolish slavery. The vast majority of abolitionists in the U.S. and Europe were devout Christians. Their religious convictions about the evils of slavery were the driving force behind the movement, and this ultimately freed millions of people around the world. If we're not going to allow religious beliefs to enter politics, then we need to reinstall slavery.
Can you give me another example of an "atrocity" that would hit a little closer to home? I understand where you are coming from by comparing the two, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me. Slavery is something that hasn't disappeared in this country, there are children who are being rounded up for prostitution at this very moment. There are still many people in this country that believe that African Americans are of a lower class than "white" amdericans.
ReplyDeleteSo, in essence by making slavery illegal (which I don't disagree with, just an example) people came up with new forms of slavery that are just as demeaning or more. It still exists in a different form. Abortion will be the same way. You can make it illegal but you can't fully stop people from doing it. Making it illegal risks the lives of more women who feel that they have no way out of their situation.
The reason I use the example of slavery is because of the direct parallels it has to abortion. 1. In both, men declare one sect of society as sub-human. In slavery, the reason is race. In Abortion, that factor is age. There is a continuing oppression against African Americans, and part of that oppression is provoked by the abortion industry itself. But that does not mean that we shouldn't have abolished slavery.
ReplyDeleteI can also compare it to murder. Who would claim, "I don't believe that murder is good, and I would never kill anyone, but I don't think we should impose our views on the rest of society."? Murder is illegal. That doesn't stop it from happening, but making it legal would be a completely ridiculous idea.
Making abortion legal might risk the lives of women who feel they have no way out of their situation. In Poland, after the fall of the communist empire, the country's new government made all abortions completely illegal. There wasn't a huge jump in "back alley abortions." In fact, there was a decrease in miscarriages and increase in women's overall health. "Safe" and legal abortion in America already kills millions of children and thousands of women. So we don't want to end the death millions because there's a possibility of repercussive death?