The Abortion Argument Put to Rest

People have been arguing about abortion for a long time. I even partook in some argument in my ethics class last year. Now I love beating a dead horse as much as the next guy, but this horse is pretty smelly and mostly decomposed. It's time this argument is put to rest, because this topic is distracting from more current questions that we don't, as of yet, have an answer to.

Sarah Palin, John McCain's maverickish pick for VP, is Pro-Life, and so much so that she is having her 17-year old daughter (pictured left) bring the baby to term, AND marry the "father." I put father in quotes because, if I know anything about men, I know that the look that kid is giving above is the "as soon as this campaign is over, I am changing my name and moving to Mexico" look.

I certainly don't fault Palin and her daughter for choosing to keep the baby, since it is undoubtedly the more compassionate and ethical choice if you have the means to raise it, but the marriage is another matter. I don't think that these circumstances (forced by the parents, the Republican Party and the entire news-consuming public of the United States) are conducive for the formation of a lifelong commitment. This is the product of abstinence-only education, which is such a patently unrealistic and stupid policy that it boggles the mind.

But I digress. Now if you try to argue about whether abortion constitutes murder then you'll be embroiled in a philosophical argument that, like most philosophical arguments, will never end as long as there are human beings that love the sound of their own voice. Trying to come to a conclusion about whether a fetus is alive is like trying to run off the edge of the earth.

BUT if you argue about whether it is reasonable to outlaw abortion in the United States, the answer is simple: no, it is not. There have been societies in the past that have outlawed the practice, and what they end up with are disturbing back-room procedures performed with coat-hangers and other such horrific events. If we outlaw abortion, those practices will make a comeback, and I'm sure no one on either side views this as a healthy alternative to the status quo.

So, there's the end of the argument. I probably should have put that part in the beginning, but oh well. Now on to Republican blog sites so I can futilely try to make them see the error of their ways. Auf wiedersehen.