[Vision2020] A Woman's Right to Choose (where she shops) Hangs inthe Balance

Wed Jan 18 14:27:05 PST 2006

Just for the sake of clarification ONLY, what does this mean:

" I find it interesting that you  believe so much in a woman's right to 
choose to abort a fetus, OR ANOTHER DEVELOPING HUMAN..."

J  :]

>From: Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>
>To: Nick Gier <ngier at uidaho.edu>, vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] A Woman's Right to Choose (where she shops) Hangs 
>inthe Balance
>Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:18:15 -0800 (PST)
>
>Nick,
>
>  I find it interesting that you  believe so much in a woman's right to 
>choose to abort a fetus, or  another developing human, but yet at the same 
>time oppose her right to  shop at a store of her choosing, like Wal-Mart.
>
>   It just seems ironic, doesn't it?
>
>   Mind you, I am opposed to legally preventing abortion. But if I had to  
>prioritize limiting a women's right to choice, it would be to limit her  
>options to a kill a developing human being over that of where she buys  
>hamburger buns.
>
>   Thoughts?
>
>   -DJA
>
>
>
>
>Nick Gier <ngier at uidaho.edu> wrote:    Greetings:
>
>   Before this goes out to the usual venues, I wanted Visionaries to have  
>a first read if they wish.  If you find typos or more substantial  points 
>to debate, let me know.  I'm glad that I can spell that  last phrase better 
>than Doug Farris.
>
>   A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE HANGS IN THE  BALANCE
>
>   By Nick Gier
>
>
>           During  his confirmation hearings many Americans were relieved 
>to hear that  John Roberts believes that the Constitution contains a right 
>to  privacy.  He also considers Roe vs. Wade to be “settled  law.”  In 
>recent hearings to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the  Supreme Court, 
>Samuel Alito agreed with Roberts on the first point but  not on the second.
>
>  O’Connor is the author of the significant  proviso “no undue burden,” 
>which limits the state’s power to restrict a  woman’s right to choose.  In 
>one decision O’Connor ruled that it  was indeed an “undue burden” that a 
>woman must get her husband’s  permission to have an abortion.  In a dissent 
>in the 3rd  District Court of Appeals Judge Alito argued that any state has 
>a right  to require a woman to do just that.
>
>   A right of privacy is not specifically granted in the Constitution, but  
>it is strongly implied therein.  Americans have an inalienable  right to 
>hold their own beliefs, to act according to the dictates of  their own 
>consciences, and the “right . . . to be secure in their  persons, houses, 
>papers, and effects. . . ” (4th Amendment). The right  of privacy follows 
>from the basic American belief that people are  autonomous beings, which 
>means that they have a right to determine  their own lives without 
>government interference.
>
>  During the  Alito hearings there was grandstanding from both sides of the 
>aisle,  but the worst offender was Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.  Coburn  
>repeatedly said that the science of fetal development should compel the  
>Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. To bolster his  argument Coburn 
>added he had delivered 4,000 babies in his career as an  obstetrician.
>
>   I’ve taught over 6,000 students and I hope that they have better  
>reasoning skills than the good senator.  Coburn stated that the  early 
>fetus has brain waves and a heart beat, but animal fetuses have  these as 
>well.  What makes humans morally and legally different  from animals is 
>that they are persons, not just biological  entities.
>
>  Our moral, religious, and legal tradition has  held that persons are 
>rational beings, who are able to determine their  own lives significantly 
>different from the ways they guide their  children or control their 
>animals.  Several footnotes to Roe vs. Wade  reference this long tradition, 
>and I believe that the justices had  sufficient reason to rule that the 
>early fetus is not a person.
>
>   At the beginning of the third trimester, the fetal brain undergoes  
>explosive brain development. At 25 weeks the brain cells are very  poorly 
>connected and the neocortex, the center of higher brain  function, is 
>undeveloped.  At 33 weeks those same cells have  thousands of connections 
>and the neocortex has the six layers of the  mature brain.
>
>  This brain is significantly different  from most animal brains, which can 
>form the physical basis for  protecting the legal rights of a “beginning 
>person,” a being with a  serious moral right to life.  This argument is far 
>superior to  fetal viability, a criterion that, as Senator Coburn pointed 
>out, is  vulnerable to technological advances in preserving the lives of  
>premature fetuses. Fetal brain development will not change except for  
>major and immoral genetic engineering.
>
>  My argument gives  expectant mothers the same six months’ freedom from 
>state interference  but with a stronger legal foundation. The is also a 
>nice logical  symmetry between starting a person's life at this point and 
>then  legally ending it when the brain no longer functions. It’s also  
>imperative to note that 88 percent of all American abortions occur  within 
>13 weeks of conception, long before any major elements of a  person's life 
>develops.
>
>  Anti-abortionists claim that abortion  causes health problems for women 
>who submit to them.  These same  people, however, do very little to support 
>the social services and  accurate information that would make abortions 
>safer, earlier, and  rarer, as is the case in most other industrialized 
>countries.  For  example, in Belgium and the Netherlands there are 7 
>abortions per 1,000  women as opposed to 23 per 1,000 in the U.S.
>
>  The most  horrendous effects on female health are found in countries that 
>do not  allow reproductive freedom, and the Bush administration’s 
>restrictions  on family planning in foreign aid are making this problem 
>worse.   With a little over half the population, Brazilian women have more  
>abortions than American women do. Eastern Europe has the highest rate  in 
>the world: a staggering 90 unsafe abortions per 1,000 women.   Generally 
>speaking, the rate of abortion appears to be directly  proportional to the 
>restrictions placed on sex education and  reproductive freedom.
>
>   As we acknowledge the  33rd  anniversary of Roe vs. Wade  on January 22, 
>we should heed the heed the results of a recent Harris  Poll: 70 percent 
>said that they would oppose Alito if he intends to  overturn this landmark 
>decision. The choice for America is clear.   We can continue to protect a 
>woman’s right to determine her own life,  or we can deny her this right and 
>force her to face unhealthy and  sometimes deadly alternatives to safe, 
>legal abortions.
>
>   Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for  
>31 years.  For more on the topic see  
>www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/abortion.htm.
>
>   _____________________________________________________
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>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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>
>
>
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>_____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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