kin@laidbak.UUCP (Kin Wong) (11/13/84)
There seems to be 2 ways for anti-abortionists to look at the issue of abortion: one is that it is murder and should therefore be banned, the other is that it is "immoral" and laws should be enacted as the means to reduce it, some would confuse the two. I like to point out the difference. To some, the use of contraceptives is "immoral", and therefore it is "wrong" to use contraceptives, i.e. contraception is "wrong" because it is "immoral", not immoral because it is wrong. Similarly, to some people, smoking , drinking, are "immoral" and should be banned (Prohibitionists have tried). However, I (and I suppose many people) support laws against drunken driving not because we think it is "immoral", but we want to be safe from drunken drivers. Similarly for murder, robbery, rape, etc.. Now I may describe such actions "immoral", but that is only becaouse it is a good and effective word to use -- i.e. I dont like it because of such reasons like self-interest and use "immoral" to describe those actions; but my dislike of such actions do not stem from my notion that they are "immoral". In case there is still confusion: some people do not like sex because they think sex is immoral, but their reasons for saying sex is immoral is not because they dont like sex. My point in bringing this up is that some have suggested that every law is "imposition of morals", and that even in traffic rules, for example, we have laws because of the "belief that there should be a system rather than no system",i.e. that it comes from our "beliefs" that having a system is better than no system (and presumably better == more moral). I object, personally, I dont "believe" that having a system is better than no system, I *KNOW* that without rules to support the traffic system we would have chaos on the roads. Thus, I dont support traffic laws because I think they are "moral", but because I dont want to be in a state where I run a high risk of getting run down. By saying that every law is an imposition of morals, they try to get away with passing laws by saying some actions are "immoral". Now that we are done with "morals", lets put aside all the "its immoral" because it's immoral arguments. Either abortion should be made illegal because it is murder, so people who committed aborions be tried for murder, or leave the decisions to those who are directly involved. I say abortion is NOT murder, and pregnant women be left alone. kin wong (..ihnp4!iwlc8!klw)