Dennis Miller on Abortion

http://www.valleyskeptic.com/dm_abortion.html ^

[no other way out]

Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, because basically tonight's topic is a minefield - Abortion. I couldn't be anymore on tiptoes if the show was being produced by George Balanchine. This is the Big Debate, and I'm talking bigger than who was the better Darren on Bewitched. Abortion is our nation's "Final Jeopardy," and I'll wager, Alex, that if our nation fights another Civil War, it will be about this. And I would remind you that this all from my perspective, the male perspective, a one-step-removed perspective, because I will obviously never have to decide on whether or not I should have an abortion. And by the way, my belief is that if men were the ones getting pregnant, abortions would be easier to get than food poisoning in Moscow. Having men decide the fate of a woman's reproductive system makes about as much sense as asking Quentin Crisp to coach the Raiders. All right, enough qualifying, let's get on with it. There's no doubt that passions run high on both sides, and this issue has created a divide in this country not seen since Carly Simon last yawned in public. The prevailing opinions on a woman's freedom to choose are going further to the right than a Greg Norman tee shot.

Pro-life activists attempt to paint anyone pro-choice as having no morals. On the other side of the ledger, pro-choicers are tagging pro-lifers as crazed and backward bible-thumpers bent on running the lives of the people who disagree with them. The truth, as always, is, the case of human endeavors lies somewhere in between. As much as the advance scouts on either side of this issue might not want to admit it, good people do get abortions and other good people are pained by their decision to get one.

Where do I stand? Well, I'm like most of you, I presume, I think there are far too many abortions performed in this country. And I also believe that at the end of the day, as much as I might disapprove, none of them are really any of my business. Look, there are always going to be arguments on this issue. The debate will rage until the end of time no matter what the whim of the Papal infallibility or the politics of the decade. But the simple truth is, that such a passionate and personal decision dictates that the choice be left to the individual. And you know, that's really all we can do, because we're just human beings, stumbling around in the dark, trying to get to the bathroom and kicking the shit out of our shins on the way there.

Now there's some things all right-minded human beings should agree on. We should all agree that abortions should be legal in the case of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at risk -- that's just common sense. But excluding that obvious assumption, everything else in the abortion arena is "in play." There are many quagmires complicating this issue. Religion. Now it seems that religion is most often the backboard for every bank shot put up by someone making it their business to get into your business. Roman Catholic doctrine forbids abortion. Fine. Take that into consideration when you make your decision. Right-to-life proponents contend that abortion is immoral. Fine. Take that into consideration when you make your decision. Another pothole on the road to a sensible resolution to abortion is "when does life begin?" At conception? When a heartbeat is detected? At the first drawn breath? You know, for me it wasn't until last Tuesday. Until then I was just a sperm with an accountant! Okay, so those are the variables, and there are obviously millions more variables that make each individual case unique. But the more you think about it, and the more it makes your head spin, and the more confused you get trying to figure out someone else's life for them, it becomes increasingly apparent that it has to be the call of the individual who is pregnant, because the collective, one way or another, won't have to suffer the consequences of that most personal of all decisions.

My fellow Americans, it is time to suck it up. Look deep into your immortal soul (if you believe you have one) and do the right thing. Have the courage and strength to live your own life, by your own standards, and stop trying to call the shots for everyone else. We all live with glaring inconsistencies, and sometimes, when you see something going on right in front of you that offends you to the very core of your being, sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away, because you know that's exactly what you would want them to do for you. There's only one judge on all this and that's God. And you don't get to meet him until you go backstage after the play is over. And believe me, you do not want to get a "thumbs down" from the guy who created thumbs, all right? In the interim, everybody has got to tend their own garden vis-a-vis abortion. And remember, when it comes to your body, only you wear the robes, and only you carry the gavel.

Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[goodnesswins]

DAY of SUPPORT....FLY your flags (US, a British one, Hungarian, Australian and Japanese one, too if you have them)....and put up your BUSH/CHENEY signs, (and the BIG W's on your SUV's) for the STATE of the UNION next Tuesday, Jan 28th, if you support the President, our MILITARY and the United States of America. PSST....pass it on.

[Hildy]

That is the most ridiculous analogy I've ever read.

[Slyfox]

It is a fact Jack!

[workerbee]

But the more you think about it, and the more it makes your head spin, and the more confused you get trying to figure out someone else's life for them,...

Typical liberal. "Oh, this is all just so difficult and confusing; therefore, I won't actually think about it any longer than it takes me to wipe my butt." Seriously, have you noticed with liberals that when you try to engage them in anything "deep", they like to shrug their shoulders and say "Whatever."

[copycat]

The issue is simple....and has nothing to do with a woman's body...

Do you believe in killing unborn children or not? Yes or No?

Right. The woman already made her choice when she spread her legs.

[Bommer]

He is as funny as a fart in a space suit.

LOL! BWWAAAAA! Thats hilarious! Damn thats funny...oh. Sorry. Sorta killed the point huh?

[MJM59]

What gets me about most pro lifers is that their belief in the "Sanctity of Life" appears to end once the fetus has left the womb. After that it is a free for all and it's every man, woman or child for themselves. Just watch the news on any night and see how many ways we can kill each other and for what reasons.

In the area where I live there was another baby left abandoned, in the snow, in the woods, with the umbilical cord still attached. Thank God that this infant was left to live just long enough for the mother to leave it to DIE of hypothermia. This is the fifth case of baby abandonment in less than a year. Four of which were left to die.

In another news story, a two year old just had it's head blown off by some low life POS.

A Norfolk Police Officer was just shot and killed a few days ago.

Could someone tell me exactly why life is so precious while it is still in the womb, but it does not seem to be worth a dime once it leaves?

GWB is so pro life, yet he is about to start a war that will kill who knows how many men, women and children both born and unborn. So much for the highly touted Sanctity of Life. I guess he is only pro "specific" life.

Once I see human beings respect each other's right to live just a little bit more, will I start to believe that the pro life movement is anything more that a method for some people to feel morally superior to others.

[Pres Raygun]

Interesting position, but let me challenge you with a few facts. At ferilization, the genetic makeup of the fetus is determined. Although genetics does not wholly determine who a person will become, science has discovered that genetics is a major determinant, not just in physical appearance, but in personality traits, intelligence, etc. Although, science cannot determine when a fetus begins to sense his or her environment or become conscious, there is much more to being a person, than sensation or consciousness. If this were not so then it should be legal to kill a person who is unconscious. People are intrinsically valuable in part because they are unique genetically. That genetic uniqueness is determined at fertilization whether or not the fertilized egg experiences any sensation or not. Birth control that prevents fertilization is not destroying the genetic identity of a person, because persons do not obtain a genetic identity until fertilization. After fertilization the egg if nourished and protected will grow to a fully formed adult with a unique genetically determined personality. An unfertilized egg has no such future.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

And by the way, my belief is that if men were the ones getting pregnant, abortions would be easier to get than food poisoning in Moscow.

Perhaps... but feminists would be attempting to ban them as "Another attempt of the patriarchy to exert male dominance over women."

[nevergore]

"Right. The woman already made her choice when she spread her legs."

IMHO, consent has nothing to do with it....If the child was the product of a rape it still has a "right" to life. The mother can always adopt out the child after birth.

NeverGore

[omegatoo]

After 1 month of pregnancy, I still think it'd be ok. After that I'd think it was killing another being

Why?
What exactly happens between the 29th and 30th day of development that transforms the mass of tissue into a being?

O2

[ohiobushman]

Read my post again. I never used the word "HATE". I said I never liked him. That is not hate. I REALLY don't like moore or clinton either,but I don't hate them! You are the only one who used the word hate. Have a good day and keep conservertive.

[omegatoo]

That's a good arguement....

Some people are bad, so we should kill innocent babies.

O2

[expatpat]

Well, Hildy, a wild statement like that needs some back-up. What's your problem with it?

[thisiskubrick]

Why? What exactly happens between the 29th and 30th day of development that transforms the mass of tissue into a being?

Well, that's my point. One month where I somewhat arbitrarily draw the line without any further explanation. You might put the line somewhere else. But nearly everyone draws the line at 9 months (ie. if the child is just about to be born).

I think the whole abortion debate is about where to legally draw the line. So.. where is your line?

[new cruelty]

I think the whole abortion debate is about where to legally draw the line. So.. where is your line? LOL. There is no line.

[MHGinTN]

Where do I stand? Well, I'm like most of you, I presume, I think there are far too many abortions performed in this country. And I also believe that at the end of the day, as much as I might disapprove, none of them are really any of my business. It's none of his business? Is he a citizen? Are we to believe that the laws exist and every citizen is then disconnected from the laws of his nation? You can bet your left buttock that if law was written to outlaw abortion, leftists would consider it their business to obstruct that law.

What this vacuous brained dolt is really conveying when he says its none of his business whether a woman is aborting individual human life is, "I don't want to be bothered; I'm an American in name only; society is none of my concern as long as it doesn't impede my self gratification.

I wonder, would this yuckmeister consider it none of his business if cannibalism was on the rise in America?... It is, you know! Therapeutic cloning is designer cannibalism. One can assume Dennis is in favor cannibalism, especially when it becomes his business, as in 'he wants a treatment possible from 'therapeutic' creation of an individual human life that is killed and stripped of its body parts in order to keep him alive so that he can discount national issues as none of his business.'

[Mr. K]

who the heck is George Balanchine?

[thisiskubrick]

LOL. There is no line.

So you would ban condoms? (see my original post)

[ApesForEvolution]

"Of course....I could be wrong"

Yes, Dennis, you are. There's no black and white. Either murdering another individual (a defenseless, voiceless, fully dependant life) is wrong or it isn't. Might is NOT right!