Mr. Vice President,
I watched your performance on Meet the Press this past Sunday, and I was still a little unsure of your position on when life begins. Do you believe life begins at conception, and if not, when do you believe life begins?
Betty in Seattle
Thank your for the question. At my town hall meeting in Michigan, did you see that ironworker with the small cap who—Wasn’t he great? Anyway, do I believe life begins at conception? Yes and no. While I believe that some life form begins at conception I do not believe that human life begins at conception. I believe that the Roe vs. Wade decision wisely embodies the kind of common sense judgment that most Americans share, and that's why I believe there is a difference between an unborn baby at 1, 2 and 3 months old and one that is older. At that age they are more like reptiles and look a lot like lizards. Once they get to be 4 months or so in the womb they really start to look like little people. It's amazing really. One day you're walking around with a lizard in your belly and the next day it's a baby. The Supreme Court works in mysterious ways.
So the test for me is, does the baby look like a lizard. If so, then abortion is justified because it is not really the taking of a human life. If the unborn baby is older and has begun to look somewhat human, then I believe abortion is still justified but at that stage it is arguably the taking of a human life. I mean, that’s the way the Supreme Court has addressed it. And incidentally, it was just reaffirmed by a narrow one-vote margin, 5-to-4. The justices chosen by the president elected this November will determine whether or not a woman’s right to abort the lizards in her belly is protected or taken away. I will protect a woman’s right to rid herself of unwanted lizards. Governor Bush has sworn to take away that right. And people think I'm an environmentalist wacko. At least I'm not proposing constitutional protection for reptiles.
Sincerely,
Al Gore