Capital Punishment Abortion Is Murder
We are all created equal, but it is what a man does in his life that determines whether he is righteous or wicked.
I believe that capital punishment is a topic that shouldn’t be taken lightly, just as abortion shouldn’t. I do believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as those are our inalienable rights. I would like someone to explain to me, however, how exactly a criminal serving life in consolitary confinement has the rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I would like someone to explain to me how any prisoner has a right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness.
Comparing capital punishment to abortion is like comparing rifles to hand grenades; they both have their uses, are in the same ballpark, and both kill people, but they are used for two totally different purposes. Capital punishment is used to deal with criminals who have had their chance at life and failed. Abortion is used to kill innocent babies that will never have the chance to make decisions.
Personally, I don’t think that capital punishment should be used in most cases, but it should be available. The problem with justice, sometimes it makes mistakes. Scott Peterson is an example, I’m sure than not every man that has murdered his wife and unborn baby has received the death penalty. Sometimes they go to jail, and sometimes they take a trip on death row, but I ask who is to decide who lives and who dies? Some people serving jail time, and some people on death row, are completely innocent. As long as a man is sitting in a cell, and new evidence proves the man innocent, he can walk free. There are few things that will ever help the man that had years taken away from him, but what happens when a man is put to death, and then found innocent?
I never said I was for or against the death penalty, I just don’t think we have the right decide who lives or dies. What about in Saddam’s case? He was a brutal dictator, and did despicable things. I believe the world is better off with him put to death.
However, assuming abortion is ok because a fetus “isn’t yet human” is also absurd. By performing an abortion, you are preventing a human being from eventually walking this earth. It is as simple as that. Using the point “We are not dealing with a conscious being” isn’t valid. Does anyone reading this remember when you were two week old? What if a person was to murder a two week old baby, do you think the baby would ever know the difference? I’ll even go this far, what about sleeping people? Do you think, honestly, if you murder a sleeping person, he or she will ever know the difference? Doesn’t “conscious” mean that you know you are alive and well? A two week old baby, or a women sleeping, neither know they are here. Yes, in a few hours, the woman will know she is here, but in a few years the baby, and even an unborn baby, will know he/she is alive and well.
The only time an abortion should be an option is if it risks the life of the mother, or if the baby is the result of incest. It could be an option in some cases of rape (I believe some cases of rape could easily be avoided by the woman). Then again, if you decide abortion is ok for a certain reason, why wouldn’t all reasons make it ok? I mean, one could say the only acceptable reason for abortion would be if it presents a threat to the mother or child. If you can justify that, then the justification of aborting a pregnancy because it may cause emotional distress to the mother, well, wouldn’t that be ok? Abortion is a hard topic to discuss, because not only is it fueled directly by emotions, more so than other opinions, but because you can’t make many decisions about abortion from hard facts. The main belief for pro-life is that life begins at conception, because that side believes in an all powerful God. The pro-choice side is fueled by the rights of women, believing that a fetus isn’t alive, so it isn’t murder. I guess if you don’t want a baby, you shouldn’t be pregnant, because if you can afford an abortion, shouldn’t you be able to afford contraceptives?
Explore posts in the same categories: Abortion, Capital Punishment
The Conservative Way 
July 6, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Hey.
I totally agree with your opinion. Keep it going!
– Kyle Brooks
me@kbrooks.ath.cx
July 6, 2007 at 7:08 pm
First off let me say this:
I’m glad that Matt is willing to discuss his opinions with those he disagrees with. It is not easy to have your views questioned by others, and although I often disagree with him, I respect that Matt is willing to discuss his views, and to listen to and respond to others.
In response to the post:
While it is clear that punishment can take away “life liberty or property,” (it even says so in the Bill of Rights.) I feel that the death penalty is far closer to murder than abortion. Abortion “kills” a mass of cells incapable of independent function, and completely dependent on the mother. But more on this later.
It sounds to me that you yourself aren’t completely decided on the death penalty, so I will let the subject rest. (I see no point in drawing analogies to a topic on which you are uncertain.) If you do feel strongly one way or another, let me know, I’m interested to hear how you feel on the topic.
“you are preventing a human being from eventually walking this earth”
By this reasoning, contraception should be considered murder. I don’t believe that a condom is on par with a handgun.
“Do you think, honestly, if you murder a sleeping person, he or she will ever know the difference?”
I use the word conscious in a broader sense than presently aware or being within memory later. A two week old baby perceives it’s surroundings, thinks, feels, and can act freely. A two week old fetus is still a mass of cells. It has developed to a point of being “…roughly an ‘inside’ layer and an ‘outside’ layer” of cells. (Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.) It has no recognizable features, cannot perceive, feel, think, or act. It is completely reliant on its mother for nutrients, and is less and individual than a part of her body. Also, a baby is in fundamentally a different form from a fetus. A sleeping woman is still a woman, and will wake up to be in a “conscious” state by your definition. I liken this issue to my belief that people in vegetative states should not be sustained.
I would be interested to hear how you recommend women prevent “some cases of rape.”
While it sounds nice to say “if you don’t want a baby, then you shouldn’t be pregnant,” life is more complicated than this. As the saying goes, “to err is human, to forgive is divine.” How would you recommend people do when they end up with a baby they can’t care for. What if the mother needs to continue working or attending school?
July 6, 2007 at 10:33 pm
One has to first define what murder it, and murder is the premeditated killing of an innocent PERSON. A fetus is not a person, nor does it have personhood. It is physically dependent on the mother, which means it is part of her. Until it is socially dependent like we all are, it has no rights. You can’t give 2 entities occupying the same body equal rights: one’s rights will inevitably trump the other’s.
Besides, if abortion was criminalized, do you seriously want forced pregnancy and childbirth to be the law of the land? Do you really want to force women against their wills to carry pregnancies to term? To feel pregnancy and children are punishments for having sex? That they are prisoners of their own bodies, bodies they cannot decide what stays in and what is removed from them? Because all this is what you’re advocating for in this post. You’re advocating for forced pregnancy to be the law of America. Think about that.
You talk about rights of the fetus, but here you are willing to infringe on the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness OF THE MOTHER in order to give this fetus more rights than the woman carrying it! Absurd.
Also, are you saying it’s the survivor’s fault if he/she is raped? You’re blaming the victim here. You really need to rethink your logic on all accounts.
July 7, 2007 at 1:21 am
@Will Cavanagh
How do you explain prematures babies that survive if they are completely reliant on their mother to survive?
If an unborn child can’t perceive, feel, or act why does she kick and move inside the womb?
What happens in the split second that a baby’s umbilical cord is cut that causes it to begin “perceiving, feeling, thinking and acting”?
Would she not also think primitive thoughts the day before inside the womb?
I guess you would have no problem with me killing my grandmother if she had Alzheimer’s and I had to feed, bathe, and clothe her every day, right? I mean clearly she can’t “perceive, think, feel or act” and she is “completely reliant” on me for nutrients.
Abortion is murder. Plain and simple.
July 7, 2007 at 3:49 am
I can see where you are coming from, but I regret to say that I disagree. If you believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, how can you say that a teenager having a baby isn’t ruining her chances of ever fulfilling any sort of rewarding life. Do you expect her to simply finish high school and then the rest of her life is dedicated to the child. All that just to save a few cells. If you suggest adoption, that creates a whole new problem. What if the poor child is caught in the foster care system, which can easily lead to a traumatic life. What would the child think when they found out that their parents didn’t want them?
I guess my point is that in many cases abortion can, as a form of speech, save more lives than it “takes”.
This is a little off topic, but I would also like to say how angry I am when I see Christian “pro-life” groups standing outside Planned Parenthood etc. buildings with sickening photo’s of bloody fetuses which are the result of EXTREMELY rare, late, abortions (which have recently been outlawed) which they use to scare poor, young women out of getting abortions. I think that is some of the worst manipulation that a person could do, and I don’t know how they sleep at night.
I would just like to thank you for letting me voice my opinion, sorry if it is a little vague and confusing, it’s 3:53 AM.
July 8, 2007 at 2:15 pm
@Josh:
I suggest you read this, and get back to me. Also, note that I was describing a 2 week old fetus, and not a 37 week old fetus. To quote the page: “a baby born at 36 weeks has a high chance of survival, but may require medical interventions.”
“I guess you would have no problem with me killing my grandmother if she had Alzheimer’s”
Your grandmother can still think, feel, breathe, and live, however she requires care. This is equivalent to a newborn baby, not a fetus. I don’t think there is any debate over the rights of a newborn baby.
July 9, 2007 at 2:40 pm
@Will
“I was describing a 2 week old fetus, and not a 37 week old fetus.”
So, are you suggesting that at some point between 2 weeks and 37 weeks something occurs that causes an unborn child to become human?
@Kelly
“Do you really want to force women … to feel pregnancy and children are punishments for having sex?”
No, I want women to recognize that having sex results in having children. If you don’t want children, take the proper precautions. Don’t try to solve the problem by murdering your child!
July 11, 2007 at 1:02 pm
While I completely disagree with you on both capital punishment and abortion, it is refreshing to see that you acknowledge the slippery slopes of both issues, and that they are difficult to work out.
It’s also good to see someone on the pro-life front who sees birth control as a solution. Birth control and sex education are key to preventing abortions.
I don’t think there’s anyone who will claim to “like” abortion as a concept. It is a tragic way to deal with a life-altering situation, and it is often traumatic for everyone involved.
However, you seem to put a lot of responsibility on women, both for sexual activity resulting in pregnancy and in rape. This is disturbing to me for a multitude of reasons. On sex–being that it takes two to conceive a child, that responsibility lies on both the man and the woman. The idea that a woman needs to bear the burden of contraception, or failing that, child-rearing, is backward and sexist.
And on rape, “…(I believe some cases of rape could easily be avoided by the woman)…” wow. You could just as easily say that some women are asking for it. Rape can never be explained, justified, or have an excuse made for it. No is no.
Like I said, we disagree and probably always will. But I will bookmark your site and come back to see how the other side is doing.
And to think it was an Ubuntu entry that brought me here.
kisses,
jimbo