There are four possible belief combinations about Capital Punishment and Abortion:
(+ =for - =against)
+Capital Punishment +Abortion
+Capital Punishment -Abortion
-Capital Punishment +Abortion
-Capital Punishment -Abortion
(I suppose one could say that there other combinations as well, all including apathy on one side or the other…but I am choosing to not include apathy, because I think this issue is important enough that everyone should have some feeling on it.)
I am of the fourth variance. This happened to be the least popular in my class. In fact I'm not sure anyone sided with me at the beginning of the discussion, though I had a few followers by the end.
The most popular combination on the democratic side, hands down, was the first, +Capital Punishment +Abortion. On the republican side the most popular combination was the second, +Capital Punishment -Abortion.
My class consisted of many of the hardcore Capital Punishment activists. The people that said "I think that if a person commits murder that person should then be murdered in the same manner". They stuck to this belief throughout the conversation. The thing that shocked me most was that some of the people that believed this also believed that Abortion was wrong. It was said "The babies haven't done anything wrong, they have the right to live; but when a person kills another human being, they are relinquishing their own right to life."
Now, I listened to this and contemplated. This theory does make sense. This is how I rationalized:
If a woman is pregnant and she has an abortion she is taking away an innocent human beings right to life. By taking away another person's right to life she is thus relinquishing her own right to life, fully giving others the right to kill her.
This was a hard blow on those that were for abortion and capital punishment, because this means punishing those that have abortions.
At this point in the class discussion I had won over a few followers, but the conversation stopped shortly after. (40 minutes is not nearly enough time in that class on discussion days)
Now I'm not nearly done telling you my ideas on Capital Punishment and Abortion, that is merely what my Government class experienced. (This is my post sans biblical references, my next post, hopefully coming up soon will delve deeply into the bible)
3 comments:
so you just completely lost me. too much "for this against that" type of thing.
Good thoughts on the issue. I'm not entirely sure where I stand on the aforementioned issues, but it's good knowing that there are people out there who have opinions and can actually back them up without resorting to constantly blathering "You're stupid," and things of that nature.
I'm blessed to have an intelligent family.
Capital Punishment: I don't think you should stoop to the murderer's level. Lock them up for life, but don't kill them. That's what they do.
Abortion: Although I believe it's morally wrong, I believe that the laws are sound as they are now, and it is ultimately the woman's choice to keep the baby or not. There is a point after which the child should be kept and before which it doesn't matter. And really this just goes down to the point where life starts. Certainly not until the egg and the sperm meet, otherwise men are having several hundred million abortions all the time. Should allowances be made for rape victims? I'm certainly not educated enough to take a stand on the medical side of this issue, only the moral right of the mother to have a choice, until the child is "aware," so to speak. Hence, I like the laws the way they are now.
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