13/08/2024
PERSPECTIVE ON ABORTION
Dolev Reuven Gilmore
I’m glad that I don’t need to make law about this controversial subject, but my perspective may help reduce the “Great Divide” between for and against. So here goes:
THE PROBLEM
Pregnancy starts the moment a cell from the father joins a cell from the mother, and it ends with birth. When does the result become a person? What is the nature of consciousness of the whateveryouwanttocallit in the womb? Anyone can have opinions, but nobody knows. Maybe there is no clear answer, even on a cosmic level. Repeat: no one knows, no matter how strongly they believe. If this uncertainty is accepted, the argument becomes more respectful.
PRO VS AGAINST ABORTION
There are some people who are against abortion in all cases after conception, as there are those who would allow abortion up until birth for any reason. In my eyes, the first group is inhumane, and the second group supports murder. For most people, the subject is nuanced.
ROE V WADE
My understanding is that the cancellation of Roe v Wade had little to do with abortion per se, but with State vs Federal rights as assigned by the constitution. I used ChatGPT to look up the constitutional powers of the federal government and found nothing which could be interpreted as allowing the federal regulation of abortion.
Believe me, we want to limit the federal government’s control over our lives, otherwise we will eventually have totalitarianism. Roe v Wade was unconstitutional, and it was a correct decision by the Supreme Court to send the issue of abortion back to the states. Again, this was not an anti-abortion stance by the Supreme Court, even though as a result, women in some states have had their right to decide restricted and will now have to fight anew.
MY BODY, MY CHOICE
Personally, I don’t want any government – federal, state or local – to interfere in my life except where absolutely necessary, thus supporting “My Body, My Choice”.
However, it’s a stretch to say that a baby is the mother’s body, which implies that it’s like a fingernail which she could trim at will. And no other part of the body kicks. Everyone knows it’s different. A baby-in-the-belly is an awesome, divine miracle. It will someday be a whole person. At some point, it begins to be aware and to feel things; at some point it could survive on the outside, with help. The question of abortion is the question of at which point of the pregnancy does the baby deserve the protection of law and “Thou Shall Not Kill”?
A government must protect its people from violence. At some non- definable point, the baby is a person deserving of protection. Should it be the mother’s choice to kill it if she so chooses? At what point and for what reasons? If dependency is a criterion, it’s an uncomfortably fine line between before and after birth.
Like I said, it’s nuanced. No one knows the right answers.
IF I WERE KING WHO MUST DECIDE
I think that abortion should be accepted as a woman’s right, but only until the end of the first trimester, at most, with exceptions.
The line between baby-in-the-womb rights and mother’s rights is not clear. Therefore, in cases of r**e and in**st, or If the baby has a serious genetic disease like Tay–Sachs with no hope of a decent life, I’d be quite a bit more lenient, although the pregnancy should be terminated as soon as possible.
When the baby is a danger to the mother’s life, the right to abort must be extended until pre-birth. In Jewish Law, this is supported by the Talmudic maxim, “If someone rises against you to kill you, kill them first”. Harsh, but applicable.
POLITICS
Kamala Harris says that Trump would sign a national ban on abortion. However, Trump has been very clear: he supports the rights of states to determine the laws on this issue and supports exceptions for r**e, in**st, and life of the mother. The Democrat fearmongering about Trump’s abortion stance is another in a list of slanders against him.
Harris herself supports the principles of Row v. Wade, which allows choice until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks. It’s possible she supports the right of a woman to abort up until birth, but I’m not sure. It also seems her VP candidate, Walz, approves of abortion any time pre-birth (or after, if the baby survives the abortion attempt).
I wrote this and rewrote this several times, after quite a bit of thought and careful choosing of words. I hope it is helpful. Feel free to offer honest and respectful criticism.
