Yesterday, I completed a biology project about physician assisted suicide (PSA), and it truly made me think about what we have deemed "acceptable" in our society.
While I was researching, I came across a few people who drew links from PSA to abortion - generally people who do not support either. Somewhat ironically, it seems to be liberals who tend to oppose war and the death penalty, but it is liberals who support the right to choose to get an abortion and, to a lesser extent, PSA (I must admit that I usually do fall into this stereotype). Still, I really cannot stand the common "argument" that all "conservatives are hypocrites because they won't let us abort a fetus but they have no problem with killing thousands of adults" or, on the other side, all "liberals are hypocrites because they aren't strong enough to send our troops to war but they have no problem with killing thousands of babies." Obviously, there's the fundamental issue that this stereotype is not always true of either side. But, although I really don't like death, I believe that both sides are making the mistake of grouping all types of purposeful death together. You can call murder murder, but there honestly are different types of killing, and although none of them are preferable, some are better than others.
In my opinion, abortion is not the murder of a baby or person. Certainly, I think that aborting a fetus at 8 months and 3 weeks is basically the same thing as killing a newborn infant and should be illegal (unless there is a medical reason that calls for abortion or something similar, although I believe that abortion that late in the pregnancy is pretty dangerous), but I strongly disagree with the idea that aborting a 3 month old fetus is killing a person. Yes, you are getting rid of something that has the potential to be a person - but it is not a person. No, I do not think abortion is good, but unless you have a way of making sure that 100% of America uses birth control that works 100% of the time, then you cannot make abortion illegal. It truly is between the woman and her doctor (of course the male in the picture should have input, but it should ultimately be the woman's choice - she is the one who'd have to go through labor, after all) and I don't think that there is any way for us to judge a woman for accidentally getting pregnant. True, there are women who get abortions who are simply irresponsible, but for each of those women, there is at least one person who is as much of a victim as her fetus is sometimes considered to be. I'm not exclusively talking about rape - there are many women who are victims of poor education, peer pressure, family life - women who are truly victims of their circumstances. And yes, we should all work together to prevent abortion - as in, find a way for all women to not get pregnant if they don't want to - but I honestly and completely believe that it needs to remain an option.
The death penalty, on the other hand, is essentially following the "eye-for-an-eye" punishment reasoning. You're saying, "You killed 10 people? Okay, we'll do the same for you!" Obviously they should get a life sentence without bail, but - really? How does committing the same crime that they committed make you any better than them? Sure, you may feel justified in doing so, but the fact is, you're bringing yourself down to their level. What if you make a mistake, and they didn't actually commit the crime? Then you've just killed an innocent person. The list of people I am okay with killing basically consists of: Hitler, Stalin, and leaders of mass genocides.
Rena: Who would you want to write your life story?
- For a fairly accurate biography, Harper Lee would be an excellent choice, as she can take a somewhat dull non-event and transform it into something mesmerizing.
- I'd choose Jeffrey Eugenides, who would write a romanticized version of my life, for a similar reason as above, and because he has a way of making prose sound like poetry.
- Libba Bray would no doubt spruce my life with fantasy and humor and possibly zombies - all of which everyone needs a little of.
- I really would love it if J K Rowling sent me to Hogwarts.
- Also, I would like for Maureen Johnson to blog my life. That's all. Just day-to-day or weekly blogs. And then compile it into a book.
I mean, I would read it.
[Artistic liberties may be taken as needed. If at all possible, please give me a really good ending to my life, too - I want to go out with FLAIR. ; ) ]
Rena: What is your favorite color?
I love virtually every color, to be honest, excluding orange (which I can take in certain shades and doses) and a few shades of yellow, brown, and green.
My favorites would have to be blue, periwinkle (mostly because I like the word), darkish purple, hotish pink, and black.
Alex: What is a fitting house elf name for me (Alex)?
Spewy. *
What do you think of parents coming up with "creative spelling" for names (i.e., "Aleeysha" as opposed to "Alicia," etc)? What about parents inventing their own names (i.e., blending "Ryan" and "Lynn" to create "Rylinn")? Do you find it to be cool, unique, obnoxious, etc., or are you indifferent?
* I would advise you not to take this suggestion seriously. Dobby, Dobby, Dobby . . . ♥
2 comments:
Thanks for the suggestion. I won't be adding it to the list of candidates, but it's the thought that counts and though it might have a bad connotation Spewy is a hilarious house elf name. Just not one I will be adopting.
This blog was deep. I'm not sure how I feel about abortion or the death penalty. I think I would say negative on both counts, but I haven't given it much thought.
I would read your blography. Haha new word.
I said "Spewy" mainly because house elves remind me of SPEW (or S.P.E.W., as Hermione likes to call it), and naturally, being the creative person I am, I simply added a "y" to the end of it.
But yes, good choice not to use it for reals. I apologize for not coming up with a usable candidate. I am horrible at coming up with names. :)
Post a Comment