Morality and legality of abortion
Somewhere amidst the abortion debates of the last quarter century, the real issue
has been lost. The focus has become too religious for a country that has separated church
and state. Therefore, I won't argue the religious rights and wrongs of abortion. No
answers can be derived until we focus on what the law and our citizens do value, because
this is how laws are changed. American laws hold sacred the value of human rights....but
when do a woman's end, and a child's begin?
The saving grace, and ultimately, the great flaw of the Constitution is it's
variability. Our founding fathers created it as an open door, to allow future generations to
correct their mistakes, but also to make them, and to contradict themselves ethically and
morally, on the whim of a generation. As a nation, we have always attempted a degree of
morality in our laws, a shared belief in what is right and wrong that is eforced by the law.
Gestational age may determine which abortion metho...
Abortion Memorial
Photo from the 2004 March for Women's Lives, taken...We assert that to ahrm another intentionally or otherwise is wrong and deserving of punishment.
Our laws condemn murderers and shun drunk drivers, charging involuntary manslaughter in the case
that he/she inadvertently kills another in an accident. There
are severe repercussions for rapists and assault of another person. We also often assert that
to harm oneself intentionally or in a way that could have been prevented by our own
precaution is wrong. These examples include the seatbelt and helmet laws and the ingestion of harmful drugs.
In keeping with our common and lawful morality that is careful to protect human life, the legality
of abortion appears incongruent.
An important question of this issue is of the point at which the
life conceived inside a woman's body is considered a life, rather than her...