In this week's Newsweek Magazine, my favorite columnist, Anna Quindlen discusses the abortion issue in the context of Judge Alito's appointment. To try to paraphrase Quindlen is like printing a dictionary with no words in it; her use of language is so melodic and precise. So here are the last two paragraphs of her article:
We’re in a real mess here, trying to fit a profound and intimate matter into a system more suited to tax codes and property issues, like trying to solve the mysteries of literature using formulas in math class. That’s because abortion is unlike any other matter and pregnancy is different from any other state of being. The situation in which an embryo is permitted to grow over time into an independent human in the body of another is just not comparable to anything else. Yet analogy is the lifeblood of both lawmakers and jurists.
Imagine how it could transform the landscape if somehow abortion were absent from government intervention or interference. Those who believe it is a moral wrong could fight through hearts and minds, not laws that would resurrect the Lysol and the garden hose. Those who believe it is a woman’s personal decision could choose either to end a pregnancy or to continue it and have a child. How much money could be raised for safe abortions for poor women and for prenatal care, too, if it didn’t need to be poured into the incessant pinball game of partisan politics. And judges could return to those issues that lend themselves to jurisprudence instead of puzzling out the singular fact patterns of the womb.
Perhaps that is the answer; remove government from the issue altogether. This act would require great courage and insight of the part of the lawmakers. Rise up, America. Insist that a matter so personal should remain personal.
You don't think it can be done. Look at Prohibition. The government stepped in on another personal choice issue, realized it couldn't control individual drinking and/or, enforce the law, and repealed the laws from the books.
Oops. That's an analogy. Sorry, Anna.
2 comments:
For Your Amusement
Check out the blog Go Flock Yourself . It's a constant stream of sarcastic, hateful, caustic, acerbic and hilarious rants about Web2.0 and it's already a must-read for us.
Hello there....good blog!
I have a term insurance site. It provides term insurance information.
Come and check it out if you have an interest, thanks.
-----------------------------------------------------
Sorry you got spammed up there.
I totally agree. Each and every situation is different and cannot be settled in the black and white views of our court system.
For health purposes, I think it should be monitored and used as a favored form of birth control. But other than that, it is very personal.
Post a Comment