The Politics of Personal

Morality is the only thing laws legislate. Morality is a personal and public decision on whether a thing is Good or Bad. Therefore, a seatbelt law is to say that saving life is Good and losing life is Bad. That seat belt law just imposed their morality on me!-how dare they?! Depends who's in the seat whether it's Good or Bad, huh? One that is suicidal would say saving life is Bad and losing life is Good. So...who get's to ultimately decide whether abortion is Good or Bad? Who's to say I can't abort my 2 year old b/c life is just too hard? When does it stop from being abortion to murder? If we are a nation governed by laws then these decisions are not just personal, but public.

of course it is personal, but does it have to be a legal procedure so that people have the choice if to go through it or not?, no. we all do illegal stuff every day. now, what if abortion was illegal, it is still a personal decision but you would not be backed up properly by insurance companies and many other factors that go hand by hand when something IS legal. I simply believe abortion is a personal decision, hence, it must be legal (like all other personal decisions). The reason why it has become an issue is because religion has found itself immerse in politics, there is no true separation between it and the government, specially under this administration, or should I call it regime? because they keep on acting as if they were deaf, including this issue, then kids health, then the war, and on and on. Sad.

What's sad is to not know the state of affairs one is in. It is sad that one does not see when a war has been declared on babies. It is sad when one is so easily influenced by media and doesn't realize it. It is sad one doesn't know or hasn't studied America's founding documents. Google it, print it and keep it - The Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They are not that long to read or hard to understand. Not only will the documents be void of the phrase "separation of church and state", it will sound overtly religious to you. WhY? B/c our founders wanted freedom to publically express religious ideas, not freedom FROM religious ideas. It is the tyrants (regimes) of the world that want to suppress the public exchange of these truths - and that's how America came to be...

One should be happy when they hear this public dialogue - b/c that is a sign of a healthy society. One should be sad when one hears of attempts to silence this public expression - b/c that is a sign of tyrany.

Well said. Though I do feel that morality is judged by law in many other aspects of law, so what's to say that abortion should be any different? Either way, I agree it's a personal decision, and should be legalized, but remain - hopefully - rare.

Safe, LEGAL and RARE- EXACTLY!!!

Well said! Abortion is awful but should be legal, safe and rare. If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one. Preach against abortion. Speak your voice in your church, but don't legislate. Women who are desperate will find a way to have an abortion. I am old enough to remember when abortions were done in back alleys with coat hangers. The wealthy will always have access to a safe abortion, but not the poor, and who are usually the ones that require an abortion? The wealthy or the poor? Where is the responsiblity of the father? What if it were determined that men must have children and that men were only allowed to have a vasectomy in a back alley with a coat hanger? Abortion is a personal decision that is not taken lightly.

You go girl!

The crucial point is that logic (such as you provide) doesn't mean squat when the topic is emotional, as this one is. A religious argument for a governmental policy? Should be a clear. Our constitution is supposed to protect us against religious intolerance and religious interference, but that's been tossed out along with some of our most crucial civil rights.

If rational argumentation had any power at all, abortion would stay legal and safe, and be rare. We wouldn't be in Iraq. The count in Florida wouldn't have been cut short.

Most of what goes on these days is highly irrational.

Very well said. You make a great point about what has happened with the seperation between church and state, namely it has disolved. And it is sad that people's stances on issues like abortion (or gay rights or immigration) are now what classify them as either republican or democrat. I for one am a democrat who does not agree with abortions for the most part (but always with exception). Do I not exist then?

well spoke. the only way anyone should ever support the criminalization of abortion is if they also support the criminalization of capital punishment, acts of war, murder, manslaughter, suicide, and extreme skateboarding without a helmet.

Well said... you just made my day. Now can you go on the Senate floor and say all that? Thanks!

A major problem to consider is that once it is safe and legal, how exactly is it going to be rare? About one in four pregnancies are medically aborted, which is not exactly "rare."

Very nice use of a video post to share your opinion !

I have always felt that abortion is not an issue men should push opinions on, so I will keep with that train of thought here.

However, dr_theodore ... do you have a link to a study that states the 95% stat? That seems a bit too high and in the spirit of open and honest dialouge, we should all refrain from stating statistics without attributing a source. If a reputable study does support that stat, I would love for you to clip it and share with us.

thanks

I thought what you said was well stated BUT wrong. As Jael said Laws do legislate morality. If I believe in human sacrifice - I cannot practice this because it is against the law - it's murder. The same goes for abortion. If you're pregnant, that means that a baby is inside you. That baby is alive. If it were not, you would no longer be pregnant. So, if you choose to abort it you are killing it. Taking a life, committing murder, are illegal and since abortion is murder, it should also be outlawed.

I ALSO think that bananaCEO is right. How can one believe that abortion is wrong but taking a life in the form of capital punishment is right (or vice versa)? That is a contradictory moral view. Yet another reason politicians irk me. Ugh, why dont they use their minds?

This post is incredibly succinct and sensible in a way that made me consider the often unfortunate necessity of abortion. It's the-as I understand it- commonly male politicians who take the mother's dire circumstances out of the equation and paint every single one of them as a ruthless murderer who had every choice to become pregnant in the first place. I'm always enlightened when I hear people speak concisely and clearly about issues that I couldn't begin to spout off about.

I agree with your view that a woman’s pregnancy is personal and the thought process around it is not political or religious. I’m sure my view on abortion will be in the minority however, our legal system has laws in place to ensure that no one person has the right to deprive another of their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. To me it’s a question of what’s right. A woman should have complete control over her pregnancy, but who argues for the inherent rights of the unborn child. We are too cavalier on the subject of abortion. Some abortion clinics allow abortions for terms up to 24 weeks and the survival rate on fetuses outside the womb at 24 weeks is 40 to 70% so for me its more than just one persons right to choose its about everyone’s right. I’m not foolish enough to think that there aren’t extenuating circumstances that may warrant a decision to abort, but it should be the exception and not the rule.

Well said!

Perfect! This should never be a political issue.

PERFECT!!
---------------
no more need be said, but, in case you have a couple of minutes....

Regrettably, both parties have managed quite successfully to create a campaign issue out of this so-called moral issue.

In so doing they have made it easy for a large group of voters to align themselves to a party without having to THINK about the very serious issues that face this nation.

This is THE reason why I encourage you to abandon both major political parties and vote for me.

Of course, it is true that I have no plans to run. And, if I am elected I will not serve. But, the important point is that [if elected] my absence will not matter. If this fair country has managed to survive 15 years under the rule of Hillary and Dubya, it has been proved by the voting electorate that we don't need a body in that comfy chair at 1600 PA Ave.

WATCH FOR my campaign ads, should I change my mind, that will pop up around Thanksgiving 2008 when the on-air rates for political ads drop dramatically.

Alright then. Nice one.

Wow, and for what party are you running? You've some talent there (or a speech writer in your closet!)

Well said very articulate and I concur with your conclusion: should remain safe, legal and hopefuly rare.
But your logic is not correct. If it is legal is because it has been legislated upon and, as others said before me, legislation is mainly about morality. I agree it shouldn't be the center of the political debate, because it interferes and relegates matters of greater importance.

Sanctifying human life means to keep it holy--to care for it. This may not necessarily mean keeping it alive. Letting an undeveloped embryo or fetus return to it's maker, may be more humane than bringing it into a world that cannot or will not care for it.

I had an abortion, and I've never regretted it. Because of that abortion, I was able to give adequate parenting to the two children I had. Because of the circumstances I was in, I'm certain I would not have been able to care for a third and still be able to provide for my first two.
People complain about parents that don't care for their children, but no one lends a hand. If this country was more willing to help those in need, there wouldn't be so many abortions. I would have loved to be able to have kept that third child.

Morality is relative. When you bring morals into politics things become too abstract and lines get blurred. This issue needs to either be entirely political or entirely moral, then I think people may start to see the issue as it is and not as a judge of character.

I'm with you that this argument shouldn't be at the forefront of politics. There are much more important issues worthy of discussion for the men and women we hire to lead our country.

In the meantime, however, I would put forth a condition for any couple (yes, the man should be involved too - he took part in the unwanted pregnancy) or any woman should have to have an ultrasound before she goes through with the proceedure.

Then, and only then can someone make the right choice based on true knowledge of what they are about to do.

Once a person sees that they have created a life, they are less likely to A) terminate the pregnancy and B) fail to take adequate measures next time to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

We all need to start taking accountability for our actions (fathers too).

you hit the nail right on the head! thank you for your smart, indepent look on abortion! It is the choice of the pregnant woman not the choice of her peers and their beliefs and political standings.

very articulate and to the point. You should write speeches for politicians.

Well said. I agree with you on this one. Abortion is an intense and personal issue. We should stop the war back and forth about whether it is or isn't "right or wrong" because it's NOT ABOUT right or wrong and because both sides have made up their minds and aren't going to change the other. It's about the fact the Federal government should have nothing to do with abortion. Federal taxes SHOULD NOT fund abortion because some people who pay those taxes do not agree with it. Instead, abortion should be an issue left up to the states to legislate as stated in the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. Trying to legislate morality is absolutely wrong.

I think this is soooo true! I don't think abortion is right but I think they should keep it leagel and here is why. If they make it illegal people are still going to get them but it won't be as safe. So really you can't stop it but I think they need to come with a better option. 1st um what about birth control pills? Seriously if you don't want a kid be smart! I also think that they should edjucate kids better sure at school there is puberty class but trust me its not co-ed and I was lucky because when I was trusting of my parents but most kids will believe the untrue things people tell them. So seriously I think they need to make it way easier to edjucate and get birth-control so abortions aren't needed.

I doubt that we really have to be concerned with the legality of abortion. Idealized morality and actual morality are two different things. One might claim that they themselves would never consider an abortion, but as long as contraception isn't 100% effective and reality reveals that our intentions for the future do not explicitly dictate what actually happens. This means that there will always be situations where there is a mistaken pregnancy or one where the mother's life would be at stake (either physically or economically). So long as this stands true, one can never say that they will never be faced with such a circumstance. Our society needs abortions as a viable option when there is no other solution. No law can completely keep in mind the countless circumstances where an abortion might be the appropriate solution. I don't understand why this is such a hot issue because it seems that whether legal or not, people will still continue to have abortions. Why punish those who would have to make such a difficult and life-changing decision?

undeniable "ring of truth".

Adoption is an alternative to abortion, but you still have to go through the process of carrying the embryo and eventually giving birth to that child and some women can't afford this long term commitment with nothing to be gained but a good moral conciense. There are programs that help with this for those who feel strongly enough about it, it called open adoption. Still the emotional strain is a serious deterent to go through with adoption and going for an abortion.

KannaTaisho,

you said "some women can't afford this long term commitment". is that seriously enough reasoning for you to kill an unborn baby? you sound a little trigger happy, don't you think?

Trigger happy? Try reality. Many women, especially those who don't have secure, more legitimate careers, lose their jobs once they are unable to show up to work. You might add that it's against the law to fire someone for missing work for pregnancy, but if she can't afford to lose her job, it's doubtful she can afford the lawyer to sue her employer.

this is the powerful bright woman i met last week. Your really good.

Applause! You have spoken forthrightly and passionately on this "intense personal issue" and I could add nothing improve your commentary. To those who claim "the only thing we legislate IS morality" I strongly disagree, we legislate on issues that effect the well being of the community, which is different from morality, thus we legislate against murder and other issues commonly seen as being harmful to the community. What the opponents of abortion would like us to believe is that there is a consensus on the harm of abortion on society when there is not, some of us believe that until the fetus is free from the womb of the mother it is she that is responsible for its survival, and that it is her intense relationship with that fetal life that will guide her, no law should require her to act otherwise.

GUD

If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one.

http://current.com/items/88582741_country_by_country_abortion_laws

I pretty much agree with the first comment.

You seem to be really good at getting to the real point of an issue, but you can't make statements so ultimate as the one about how Government can't impose laws of moral question.

"Morals" in the definition of the word, are related to duties and obligations, to right and wrong. That is why we need a government... to keep us under obligation to do what is right to our neighbors, to our brothers and sisters. To punish us when we do wrong to those people. I realize that now days, everyone's view of what is right and wrong is different from the next guy... that is why the Government still makes many laws based on the Christian Bible, or by council from the Bible... because where else are we going to find