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

[Donovan Arnold]

Hi Joe,
  
 I do not believe in making  abortion illegal not because it is or is not a human being. I think it  is obvious that it is a developing human. To me, life is so precious  that if there is any possibility it could be a person, it is worthy of  saving. With perhaps the exception of the Bush administration, most  people value life enough to error on the side of life when there is any  question.  
  
 My opposition to illegalizing abortion  rests in two facts. First, giving the government control of our  reproductive freedoms WILL result in the government eventually abusing  that power, such as forced abortions. And second, it is impossible to  force anyone to carry a baby to term if they truly do not want it  without stripping people of  basic human freedoms of what   we, eat, consume,  where we go,  how we  behave etc. In  other words, it  is not  enforceable without stripping humans  of all that is valuable and makes life worth living.
  
  _DJA
  
  PS, I am still waiting for response on why I, a poor American, should  subsidize your more costly preferences in a free marketplace economy?
   
joekc at adelphia.net wrote:  Today I asked this question in my undergraduate seminar on Action, Ethics, and Responsibility:

Is  the disagreement about abortion primarily a disagreement about moral  claims or a disagreement about metaphysical claims (one with ethical  implications, no doubt)? 

We all agree -- I think -- that  innocent persons should not be needlessly put to death. Isn't one  primary disagreement in the abortion debate about what it means to be a  person, which is a metaphysical disagreement? (I'm not trying to  diminish the claim but to locate it.)

Best, Joe

---- J Ford 
 wrote: 
> 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 
> >To: Nick Gier , 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  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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