The Role of Government With Respect to Abortion

The role of the government of the United States of America (USA) is stated in the Declaration of Independence in the following quote. 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 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, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. .... "

The role of the federal government of the USA seems to be straight forward with respect to abortion. Abortion should not be allowed as it is the taking of a life. If a human life is defined as conception. The controversial decision by the United States Supreme Court defined human life as beginning at the point the fetus is viable. That is, the fetus can live with life support out side the womb.

As you can see even the definition of life is debated.

That having been said, outlawing abortion is easier to discuss than enact. 

Here are just some of the problems. This is a short list but is illustrative of the point that must be made.

There are times a woman does not want to be pregnant.

1. When she conceived due to rape.

2. Perhaps she was on drugs and knows the baby will be deformed.

3. She may not have the financial means to take of a child.

4. She is mentally incapable of caring for the child.

5. There are times when a woman can not deliver the child safely without harm to herself or perhaps the baby.

6. The house hold is abusive. 

7. The woman was on contraceptives and simply does not want the child for what ever reason. 

8. The woman is to young for children.

9. The child is not of the spouse.

There are or course many more reasons but these are some of them. As you can see the reasons run from trivial to life threatening. 

As I grew up in the 1950's and 1960's I learned many important lessons from the news. One lesson was, that no matter how hard the government cracked down on women who wanted abortions and the individuals who were willing to assist them, abortions were performed.  Yes, they were preformed at a alarming rate. Many times at the loss of the mother's life. 

Today our politicians are arguing over enactment of laws to force a woman to view the sonogram of the baby before an abortion is performed. They want the mother to hear the heart beat. Those against abortion go to great pains to intimidate the women so she will not have the abortion. 

In my opinion these actions by those against abortion are the same as  mental cruelty. The women is already distraught over her situation. She is having a hard time trying to make the decision. Adding more guilt does not help long term. 

What of the baby? Yes, "THEY" say the baby will be taken care of when it is born. But as you watch the news each night the fact that the government prosecutes the mothers for having the baby in many backhanded subtle ways becomes apparent.

So what now? The women is chastised for having the abortion and prosecuted if she does not. Our laws are not helping. In fact our laws as so inconsistent they hinder the process both of having the abortion and bearing life for those women who would need to give the baby up for adoption. 

There are those who are the moralists that say the laws must be changed to outlaw abortion. There are the pro-choice who want abortion to be legal. The legal posturing continues on ad infinitum. The real problem is neither group has walked in the mothers shoes and no one can set the moral standard for the mother. The situation is really up to her own moral code. 

What should happen now? In my opinion at this time in the USA the arguments must stop. The political haggling over this point is causing more harm to the country than the deaths of the fetuses.  The political posturing over this point will cause more deaths due to starvation and disease in the future than the few deaths near term.

The governments roll should be to allow abortion as defined currently by law. Not harass the women. The government should not fund abortions, except when the woman's life is at risk, as abortions are elective surgery.   

To me any politician with the topic of abortion in the platform shall be considered to be using the topic as political grist to avoid talking about the bigger problems. I will conciser not voting for them because this point shows the politician is not in touch with the real problems of today or the opinion of the general public. Not that this issues is not important. it is and has been answered under our current laws.

Abortion is an important issue,  but it is not as important other issues that must be dealt with today, because abortion  has been answered in law,  as the potential suffering that will come if the budget of the USA is not balanced and jobs created. Millions will die in the USA. Making problems in Africa with starvation, disease and war look small by comparison. 

There should be no Constitutional amendment preventing abortion. I will not vote for it or any politician who proposes one. 

Bible thumpers, the Republican party and others who continue to push this issues play directly into the hands of the Democrats because there are many more who favor abortion than are pro life. (Note women have wanted a way to control conception since the beginning of human society. For example the seeds from queen anne's lace (Daucus carota) was used during the late 5th or 4th century B.C due to its ability to be an effective day after abortive drug. Check WEB for details. From time to time the seeds of queens anne's lace was the most expensive herb in the world. )

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