Oh, sorry -- I'm at work, posting around building some web tools. Sometimes I miss answering every point.
The analogy to slavery?
Specificaly, if I understand you, you're asking do I believe that every human being in America should have the legal protection from being killed in all instances, I think?
To me, the answer is not in all circumstances. One example that would be relevant here I believe you might agree with would be abortion when the life of the mother is at stake.
To me, if the mother decides that she for whatever reason can not care for and raise her baby, it should be her right to terminate it before live birth.
Once born, I can see that the baby then gains the protections. But before it's born, it's in a state that I believe makes terminating it, ending it's life, not to be a very big deal at all.
Certainly, adoption is a better option in most cases. But for whatever reasons, there seem to be many folks who will not choose this. So for those people, the mothers who feel they can not or will not raise the baby properly and will not choose adoption -- abortion is probably a good option in many cases. The choice should be up to the mother.
The analogy to slavery?
***Yes. The expansion of the definition of who had rights in our society, not necessarily an intrusion of guvmint. Because as a society we came to believe that slaves were people too, and they had the right to life/LIBERTY/pursuit of happiness.
Specificaly, if I understand you, you're asking do I believe that every human being in America should have the legal protection from being killed in all instances, I think?
***I think you missed the point, that wasn't where I was going at all. Should we extend rights and protection to a human preborn, especially one which would live were it to be removed from the womb? The age of viability is ~6 months from conception; some babies have survived at less than 5 months, but it's admittedly quite risky. Some babies have had access to external resources outside the womb (one of the tests of viability) by getting surgery at 2 months, or when the mother suffers brain death and the baby lives.
To me, if the mother decides that she for whatever reason can not care for and raise her baby, it should be her right to terminate it before live birth.
***It's killing a baby. If she can't make the decision before the age of viability, she has no excuse for killing it. Of course, I have my own thoughts about women who kill their babies before the age of viability, but that is a separate discussion.
Once born, I can see that the baby then gains the protections.
***Yes. Once it's born, it has all the rights of a citizen in our society, even though it is a completely dependent life form. The key is that it doesn't have to be completely dependent upon the mother, the baby has access to societal resources to help it thrive. Now that our medical technology has gotten more sophisticated, preborn babies are viable at 6 months and could survive without the mother, and that age keeps shrinking. If we perfect womb transfers, the age would shrink dramatically. I believe it is a morally dangerous viewpoint to look at it this subject the notion that "it's ok to kill it until it's born" because that threshold of "being born" is not the threshold the courts nor society (nor God) has used in the past. The age of viability used to be considered 5-6 years old, but it has gradually shrunk down to 0 years old, and now it is about -0.4 years old and shrinking.
But before it's born, it's in a state that I believe makes terminating it, ending it's life, not to be a very big deal at all.
***Oh my goodness. "not a very big deal at all". I'm having some trouble processing that on an emotional level. OK, so you acknowledge that it's a human life but that killing it is no big deal. I'm afraid I just don't have the time to go down that path. I'll stick with... why would we want a president with such a cold hearted disregard for innocent human life?
Certainly, adoption is a better option in most cases. But for whatever reasons, there seem to be many folks who will not choose this.
***So to extend the slavery analogy here, certainly freeing the slaves is the better option but for whatever reason, there are many folks who will not choose this. Our society grew up and realized that this was plainly, wrong. It's also, plainly, wrong to kill an innocent baby and we need to do as much as we can as a society to extend our resources, care, protection and legal recognition to these lives.
So for those people, the mothers who feel they can not or will not raise the baby properly and will not choose adoption -- abortion is probably a good option in many cases. The choice should be up to the mother.
***Not after the age of viability. And also, for the most part,not even before the age of viability, but I choose not to engage in that discussion because it takes too long. The woman made a choice to engage in the activity which generates a human life. Once that human life has legal status & protection in our society, killing it is murder. We should extend the legal status of personhood to preborn babies -- starting with PBA/Late term abortions -- because it's the right thing to do.