July 28, 2004
SHOULDN'T THAT BE "KERRY'S ILLOGICAL SHUFFLE"?:
Kerry's Illogical Stand on Abortion (Crispin Sartwell, July 28, 2004, LA Times)
Here's John Kerry's position on abortion. He's personally opposed to it, and as a matter of faith he believes that life begins at conception. But he's unwilling to impose that faith on women who may not share it. It should be a matter of individual conscience, he says.This position, I submit, is a self-serving and obvious absurdity.
Murder, let us agree, is the intentional killing of a human being in the absence of excusing conditions such as self-defense by the killer or overwhelming suffering on the part of the killed. Clearly, by his own definition, Kerry believes abortion is murder.
If there should be a law against anything, most Americans would agree, it's murder. Radical anarchists might differ — they might say that murder, and any other act, should be a matter merely of individual conscience and not of law. But I think we can assume that that is not Kerry's position.
The other part of Kerry's argument is that because his position rests on faith — rather than on reason or science or unanimous agreement — he is unwilling to impose it on others, and he believes it would be a violation of the separation of church and state to do so.
But that doesn't stand the test of logic either; no human values, whether encoded into law or not, rest on science or reason or unanimous agreement. All human values rest on faith.
Yeah, but other than those quibbles it's logical, right? Posted by Orrin Judd at July 28, 2004 4:20 PM
That position isn't necessarily logically indefensible, if one believes that the purpose of law is not justice but maintaining civil order.
Should everything immoral be illegal?
Posted by: mike earl at July 28, 2004 9:14 PMKerry: "I flip, therefore I flop".
Or, "I will believe 10 impossible things before breakfast".
Posted by: ratbert at July 28, 2004 9:51 PM"But that doesn't stand the test of logic either; no human values, whether encoded into law or not, rest on science or reason or unanimous agreement. All human values rest on faith."
Maybe, although I think he gives heuristics short shrift. Unfortunately, the author defeats himself.
Whose faith?
In a society championing, among other things, freedom of religion, the government has no business picking one particular faith and imposing it upon everyone.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at July 29, 2004 7:16 AMJeff:
Of course it does--the government is based on one religion.
Posted by: oj at July 29, 2004 7:20 AMI believe abortion is a grave sin. But I don't want women who get abortions to go to jail. Who should I vote for - Bush or Kerry?
Posted by: Mike at July 29, 2004 8:53 AMThe women shouldn't go to jail - but the 'doctors' most certainly should.
Posted by: jim hamlen at July 29, 2004 10:18 AMMike:
Either.
Neither Bush nor Kerry will stop legal abortions, and nobody's going to go to jail during the next four years for having an abortion.
I beleive it is wrong, after it is conceived it is a living being. If you abort it that is MURDER, and it is not morally right. If you are old enough to get yourself in that position, don't try to get out of it by murdering something. There are always other decisions you have such as putting it up for adoption.
Posted by: Meagan Martinson at October 19, 2004 9:38 AMI beleive it is wrong, after it is conceived it is a living being. If you abort it that is MURDER, and it is not morally right. If you are old enough to get yourself in that position, don't try to get out of it by murdering something. There are always other decisions you have such as putting it up for adoption.
Posted by: Meagan Martinson at October 19, 2004 9:38 AMI am personally against abortions in the exceptions of rape, incest, or the endangerment of the woman's life. Though,I do agree if you are old enough to get in that situation don't immediately jump to abortion.
Posted by: Kelly Courtenay at October 22, 2004 8:41 PMkerry talks out of both sides of his mouth
but i think he would make a better president than bush
Posted by: amelia at November 9, 2004 9:09 AM