Protecting Life

In his last days in office President Bush made this day, the anniversary of the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade as National Right to Life Day. So today I want to address this case my stance on abortion.

In Roe v. Wade it did not give abortion on demand, as many people may think. It basically limited the state's rights to limit abortions based on a trimester schedule. It was later adapted by another case to say that as long as the baby can survive outside the womb then the state has a viable interest in protecting the life of the child.

One issue I have with this is on a constitutional basis. Under the 14th amendment all people who are citizens of the U.S. are entitled to equal protection under the law and may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property with due process. This phrasing leads to my interpretation that abortion goes against the Constitution in several ways:

1. Fetus and the unborn have not been given equal protection under the law in the U.S. If you kill them there is not punishment. If you kill the mother there is a punishment.
2. If we are lead to believe that its a privacy issue with the woman having the freedom of choice with her body, then what about the men. Technically the fetus is not the woman's body. It is genetically different from hers and just supported by her body. The fetus has 1/2 its genetic material from the man and the woman; therefore it is not the property of either of them but of both. When a woman aborts the child she is depriving the father of his genetic "property" in the child without due process.

I also look at this issue through the eyes of the Declaration of Independence and what Thomas Jefferson said in regards to the job of government. I have quoted the pertinent passages below:

...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men... That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it...

It is the job of the government to protect the God given right of life. When the government allows abortions to continue they are not protecting the life created in the mother's womb. I will even go so far that life does begin at conception, when the man's sperm fertilized the woman's egg. At that point life is created, and created equal, deserving the same protection to be given by the government.

Abortion is the final option ONLY in extreme cirumstances. It is not birth control. People who cannot afford, or support kids have plenty of other options before them besides Abortion. There is adoption. Plenty of people cannot have babies. Give it to someone who can and is ready for a child. There is birth control for those who are married or living together. Also, there is abstinance. If you are a high schooler, that is the best thing for you. Children is the natural consequence to having sex, therefore if your not ready to have a kid, you probably should not be having sex, PERIOD!

I fear for the life of the unborn with our new President in office. God protect the little ones and give us the courage and the power to fight against these policies and encourage others that protect life. Amen