Some may have the idea that the President can’t really do anything about the abortion issue. After all it is a constitutional right- right? Not exactly. The watershed case of Roe v. Wade in 1973 set the precedent for abortion rights. It has consistently been upheld in the courts since that time. One of the steps to end abortion on demand is for there to be enough court justices who were favorable to overturn Roe v. Wade to institute a new set of laws dealing with abortion. In the case Marbury v. Madison the Supreme Court was given the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution. For this reason, if we had enough judges who believe the protection afforded to citizens by the Constitution should be applied to all persons, even those in the womb, we should be able to change the precedent in the way abortion is looked at by the courts.
The President has the ability to appoint justices to the Supreme Court as we have seen recently with Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. Another term of Republicans will ensure that we have the chance to replace at least one pro-choice candidate with one who may be more sympathetic to the pro-life mindset. This is probably the most important way the President can have a positive impact on the issue of abortion. There are policies that the President can institute to encourage and facilitate a culture of life, but they are all secondary to this important responsibility.
As Christians we do have the responsibility to watch out for “the least of these” and to care for those who cannot take care of themselves. While Democrats will use this same command from Scripture to say why they think government should be in the business of welfare, I see this as a different issue altogether. The government’s job is to protect its citizens and to build infrastructure and to facilitate business and free enterprise. The government has a responsibility to protect these children from slaughter, and we as citizens of this nation should stand up for them and demand that the government do so.
My next post will discuss the role of government and how to think about it as a Christian.
Until then,
JB
Friday, September 5, 2008
What can the President do about abortion?
Posted by JB at 6:28 PM
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10 comments:
if the government doesn't help the least of these (which the Bible doesn't list unborn babies as one of these), then who will? the church certainly hasn't. have you? it costs $137,000-250,000 to raise a child, birth to 17 years. $14,000 of that is for the first 5 years until he is able to attend free (public) school. the 137 figure is averaged from those in a sample from poverty level incomes and the 250 from a sample of 70k+ incomes. it isn't hard to choose life when you can hire someone or you have a husband or supportive family to take care of the baby. props to the mccains for adopting a baby. in my opinion, unless you have adopted a baby or put up the
$$ (at least 14k, not two packs of diapers and a can of formula) to help the poor girl who "chooses life", then you have no right to an opinion on what another should do in a situation you likely have never encountered yourself.
Here's an interesting bit of information.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2008/09/new-study-on-abortion-reductio.html
Who is the government? In our structure it is a collective bunch of individuals gathered together in a society with certain governing laws (Constitution) to try and figure out ways to work together to create opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately we have to reckon with the reality of our limited resources. We cannot do everything we would like, afterall it is our money that goes to pay for governmental programs.
It's funny that since R.v.W. the number of "unwanted prenancies" has increased not decreased. Here are the facts:
"Three decades later [after Roe v. Wade], what are the facts? Illegitimacy is a much greater social problem today than it was in the early seventies. In 1970, 10.7% of live births were to unmarried mothers. By 1975, only a couple of years after Roe v. Wade, the rate was 14.5%. Today the rate is 33%; among black children, the rate today approaches 70%."
Do you drive a Prius or a gas guzzler? By your logic you cannot talk to me about the environment. Whether or not I put my money where my mouth is is largely irrelevant. I don't feel the need to disclose the details of my participation in this issue. Suffice it to say, I put some of my money and my time where my mouth is. Could I do more? Of course, when you find someone who does everything they can on any issue, let me know. If that is the litmus test for being able to speak to any issue, then everyone ought to shut up about everything. The facts are, that readily-available-abortion has not solved the social problem of "unwanted pregnancy" though I think even that phrase is a biased and demeaning characterization of life in the womb. Sure, I want people to be responsible with their sexual activity, having the by-product of children being in a stable family, but we also have to deal with the reality we have. The utopian dream that many liberals have is ridiculous. Liberals want the government involved- bailing women and men out from the bad situation that they put themselves in. The issue boils down to personal responsibility, and the liberals are more likely to take that away from people, and conservatives are more likely to allow people to live with the consequences of their actions (good or bad). Society cannot flourish without personal responsibility and incentive (or disincentive) to engage in responsible (or irresponsbile) behavior. The sexual revolution of the 60's and 70's, and the advent of birth control and the rights on abortion have degenerated society, not helped. Who's to say that had abortion been unacceptable by society that there would have been less "unwanted pregnancy" because people wouldn't be freed from the inhibition that their activity would have resulted in the "punishment" of a child. Dependence on the government to bail one out of a self-inflicted problems creates horrible problems- see Katrina, the welfare state that is breaking our country, the recent real estate crisis. Dependence on the government creates poverty and social problems that are worse than allowing people to live with the natural consequences of their actions. More on my next post about the role of the government.
Notice how I have never mentioned a word to you about the environment...
We have talked extensively about the environment, especially when An Inconvenient Truth came out and how Bush's policies have been disastrous to our environment. You have sent me literature from the Sierra Club, and other environmental groups.
My point is not that you shouldn't talk to me about things that you aren't completely consistent on, but that no one is consistent on anything and that our own inconsistency shouldn't prevent us from talking about important issues.
Jon
jon, that post was from me, not dad. sorry about that.
af
that's cool. Hard to tell sometimes. JB
i'll take that as a compliment :)
af
In case there was any misunderstanding in my comment "hard to tell", all I meant was that ya'll both use the same login and username, and when you don't sign your name to it, I don't know who is talking.
Jon
I don't know who said it, so I can't attribute it to anyone, but I won't take the credit for it..."what one generation tolerates, the next embraces." The sad truth of the matter is that we (the Church) have allowed an immoral population to out squeak us in the oil race on the issue of abortion.
The fact that abortion is not covered in the Constitution is yet again proof that the Constitution was written for a better class of people than are citizens today. Until we stop giving politicians who say that the issue of when life begins is "above their pay grade" the time of day nothing will change.
While I do understand that the president has the right and responsibility to appoint Supreme Court justices to uphold the Constitution, I feel there is a greater responsibility placed on us as citizens to elect and hold accountable the men and women to represent us in the Congress and enact laws to protect the very people they are elected to serve.
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