In a recent Facebook conversation regarding the current health care debate I was asked "would you support a politician solely on their pro-life stance?"
Here is my reply:
Thanks for asking. Yes, I would. Here's why. While there are lots of issues, the fundamental aspect of democracy is respect for the dignity of every person equally (as opposed to Tyranny which is based on the power of the strong over the weak). It also follows in a democracy that the weaker and more powerless a person is the more the powerful have the responsibility to provide and protect. Thus, the laws we have about children, the elderly, the handicapped, and so forth. Thus in a democracy, the integrity of the democracy is in direct proportion to its protection of the powerless: the more powerless, the more protection.
The unborn child is the most powerless and the most defenseless of all because he or she cannot even scream or cry which is all most infants can do to communicate danger or discomfort. Thus in this health care debate, its not just health care that is at stake, but the very foundation and meaning of democracy. While we cannot outlaw abortion until Roe v Wade is overturned, taxpayers should not have to be made to pay for an action which at its root is the very antithesis of democracy.
This is hard to understand because it is easy to point to all the helpless or defenseless people in our society including the uninsured. However, it is the DEGREE OF DEFENSELESSNESS of the victim that determines the priority, and the unborn is simply the most defenseless.
As an aside, I am sympathetic to those who would want to keep abortion legal in the event of rape or incest, which is extremely rare. However, the real question is not when is abortion okay, but when is it okay for one human being to kill another.
Obviously our society allows for such instances: war, self-defense, capital punishment. But the killing of an innocent, defenseless human being? When is that okay?
