Posted on 08/12/2005 4:06:27 PM PDT by Bob Haran
Don Goldwater, who aspires to be the Republican nominee for governor, doesn't seem to understand the meaning of pro-life.
Mr. Goldwater told the Arizona Conservative that his "Views are pretty straight forward," and that, " I am pro-life with a few exceptions," but those exceptions give evidence to his true position on abortion.
His exceptions in his own words are "An abortion can only be considered in cases of rape or incest and only before viability of the fetus, the only other exception would be in the case of mortal danger to the mother."
I think Mr. Goldwater's exceptions would be of mortal danger to the unborn child.
The fetus is a human being deserving of life regardless of whom the father is or how conceived. To allow abortions in cases of rape or incest is to punish the unborn child for the crimes of the father and is not a pro-life position but the position of pro-death.
In the very rare case of mortal danger to the mother, that is a life for a life decision and should be made by the mother. Therefore, any exception beyond the life of the mother is a pro-abortion position, and therefore Don Goldwater's exceptions makes his position on the issue pro-abortion.
What Don Goldwater is trying to do is to take a compromise position on abortion, to straddle the issue. Unfortunately for Mr. Goldwater, there is no compromise position on abortion. The fetus is either an alive human being or it is not. A candidate for public office is either pro-life or he is not, there is no middle position on this issue.
Before someone takes a position on abortion they should study the words of The Declaration of Independence which states that "All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," the first of which is the right to life.
God gave us the right to life, not government and no one, born or unborn, should be deprived of life without the due process of law. Abortion is a violation of that right and is just simply wrong.
Just as slavery was a question of right and wrong, so too the issue of abortion and just as the institution of slavery was abolished so too must the institution of abortion be abolished.
Bob Haran www.bob-haran.info
On the mark, perfectly. The ideal should not to be made the enemy of the good.
I think many people hold this view.
Interestingly, some call themselves pro-life.
Others with the same view call themselves pro-choice.
I didn't make any assumptions.That is also quite immature.
I also did not start calling names. You seem to start that from the beginning.
I never said I was an absolutist on abortion as I see the necessity of aborting a pregnancy if the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
This is a non-sequiter. I never called you an absolutist. I said if you trash anyone who does not hold to an absolutist stand, you marginalize yourself. That is what the author of this article is doing by calling Goldwater pro-abortion or pro-death.
That is the only case in which I see abortion as necessary. Aborting a pregnancy because of rape or incest is IMO unjust.
Fine. I feel the same way. But if you insult everyone who doesn't feel exactly the same way, you diminish our chances of making significant progress in reducing abortions by building a strong coalition. (Please note, I am using the word "you" in an editorial sense - not necessarily directed at you personally.)
While I strongly disagree with those who would allow abortion in cases of rape or incest (I believe abortion should be illegal in all cases unless it must be performed to save the life of the mother), I don't think it's fair to characterize Don Goldwater's position in abortion as anything but pro-life. The "rape and incest exception" to abortion is shared by many prominent pro-lifers, including President George W. Bush. I think that pro-lifers should try to convince people that the unborn should be protected regardless of the origin of his or her conception, yet attacking Don Goldwater as insufficiently pro-life is counterproductive and will only result in the pro-abortion Governor Napolitano getting reelected.
Well here we go again. Trash the republican because he's not perfect and re-elect Janet Napalitano who is a pro-abort including partial-birth abortion. She is also anti-2nd amendment, pro-illegal alien (wanted to hand out drivers licenses), etc., etc.,..
What the hell does a "terrorist" have to do with any of it? Today, "terrorism" or "terrorist" seems to be thrown around as a handy dandy cover for just about anything.
It's called an analogy. Terrorists hide behind innocents, and the simple-minded blame the death of those innocents on those who try to kill the terrorists who chose to use them as shields. Likewise the fault when a rapist's baby is aborted belongs squarely with the rapist himself.
Consider away, but you are not pro life.
A largely pro-life person should get credit for it, not be described in the same terms as a pro-abortion maniac. People who cannot understand this distinction are not helping fetuses. They are playing Holy Joe.
Precisely!
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