Sunday, December 28, 2008

Conservatives want to reopen abortion debate



It was reported by the Canadian Press that a secretive parliamentary caucus wants to reopen the abortion debate in Canada. It's been over 20 years since a court ruling made it legal for women to chose the fate of a fetus. But the pro-lifers in the Conservative party are willing to present a bill that would recognize the fetus as a living person for the purpose of criminal law. In short if a pregnant woman were to be murdered her fetus would be counted as a second person.

Pro-choice activists feel that this law would reopen the entire debate about the legality of pregnancy terminations. I think they're right.

While there are valid points to be made on either side of the debate; I believe that the pro-choice arguments are stronger. Should a woman made pregnant as a result of rape be forced to be reminded of the horrific even daily? Should that child be that reminder? How fair is that to the mother and to the child? Should a woman be forced to carry a child to term if it means risking her own life? Should it be criminal to choose what you do with your body?

The best question of all though: Should the Conservative government stay the hell out of a woman's uterus? The answer to that one is YES.

Muchacho Enfermo

4 comments:

Patrick Ross said...

The pro-abortion lobby's arguments about whether or not abortion should remain legal are certainly stronger.

It's fairly obvious that a lot of anti-abortion activists haven't stopped to consider the implicit realities underlying abortion.

A woman who wants to terminate an abortion badly enough will find a way to do that. Legal abortion performed in medical clinics is clearly preferable to back alley abortions and all of their accompanying human misery.

All the same, there's a huge difference between seeking an abortion for legitimate reasons and seeking an abortion as retroactive birth control.

Right now, Canada is the only western democracy that places no limits whatsoever on abortion. This places us in a serious moral quandry.

When it comes to abortion most people would certainly agree that the sooner that abortion is sought, the better. The closer a pregnancy gets to term the greater the moral issue posed by an abortion is.

To put is simply, an unborn child is human life, even if we don't necessarily recognize it as a human being per se. But at a certain point that fetus has unquestionably become a child.

I believe the country is remiss to allow a woman to terminate such a pregnancy without sufficient medical cause.

~Zurama Arencibia Nuñez~ said...

I don't know what the statistic is in Canada, but recently here, I think I heard that the statistic for abortion because of rape was something like 6% perfect.

I think the pro choicers use it as an excuse and to create drama, in order to justify killing another human being, before it even has a chance.

Again I don't know how it's in Canada, but here if you have baby and you can't or won't keep it for whatever reason, you can drop it off at a hospital or police station with no questions asked.

I'm stating this opinion, out of religious fanaticism, I'm actually not very religious, but I do believe in the the value of all life.

Patrick Ross said...

No, I think rape is a legitimate reason to seek an abortion.

Even if one were to suggest that a woman shouldn't have the right to decide whether or not she'll have a child -- and I certainly won't because I believe she should have that right -- one has to admit that a woman has the right to decide whether or not she'll have sex.

If one believes in both of these rights, then rape violates each. An abortion shouldn't be considered the option of choice, but it very much is legitimate, in my view.

Muchacho Enfermo said...

The whole rape argument aside... I am all about a woman's right to chose. For me it's also about the sanctity of human life.

I just think of the life an unwanted child would have or the life it would have in the care of the state.

I don't believe that it should be used as a birth control method, but I believe that the option should be there if it is needed.