Monday, June 15, 2009
IT IS A FREEDOM ISSUE!
The murder of Dr. Tiller, gunned down in his own church by a religious fanatic, has brought the touchy political issue of abortion back to people’s attention. Perhaps assisting this focus of attention is the appointment and probable confirmation of a new Supreme Court judge who just might support the legal precedent of a previous high court decision that goes by the title of Roe vs. Wade.
That prior court decision made abortion legal in the United States on constitutional grounds. The religious right has been chipping away in one way or another at that decision ever since. Their political tool has been the Republican Party, aiding and abetting their attack on women’s rights in every way possible.
Republicans, in turn, have used the religious right by stirring up emotional ballot issues to bring out their votes for the party. How often have we seen one of those issues put on the ballot in critical general elections recently?
The abortion issue is one of freedom, purely and simply.
First, it is an issue of women being free to manage and control their own bodies. We have laws against sex crimes to avoid violation of women’s bodily and personal integrity and their freedom of non-consent.
The government does not tell a woman when and how to become pregnant. How outrageous that thought! Then why should the government intervene to tell a woman whether she should stay pregnant and have an unwanted child for which she must be in servitude.
Who are we to interject the government into such a personal matter as a pregnancy or its termination?
Secondly, the abortion issue is one of freedom of religion and separation of church and state. When the government succumbs to the will of the religious right, and begins to put the tenets of their beliefs into law, then this becomes a violation of the separation of church and state. It is clearly the legal “establishment of religion” as prohibited in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
When the government begins to take the specific beliefs of a religious sect or group and put these into law for everyone, this brings the First Amendment into consideration. If these tenets come from a radical fanatic group, it may be ever the more egregious.
It should be clear that putting tenets of religion into law is improper, illegal, and hazardous to personal liberty – even if those tenets are subscribed or voted by a majority of citizens. This infringes on individual rights, nevertheless, and thus is prohibited by the Constitution.
The Constitution is the guarantor of individual liberty.
Edwin E. Vineyard
That prior court decision made abortion legal in the United States on constitutional grounds. The religious right has been chipping away in one way or another at that decision ever since. Their political tool has been the Republican Party, aiding and abetting their attack on women’s rights in every way possible.
Republicans, in turn, have used the religious right by stirring up emotional ballot issues to bring out their votes for the party. How often have we seen one of those issues put on the ballot in critical general elections recently?
The abortion issue is one of freedom, purely and simply.
First, it is an issue of women being free to manage and control their own bodies. We have laws against sex crimes to avoid violation of women’s bodily and personal integrity and their freedom of non-consent.
The government does not tell a woman when and how to become pregnant. How outrageous that thought! Then why should the government intervene to tell a woman whether she should stay pregnant and have an unwanted child for which she must be in servitude.
Who are we to interject the government into such a personal matter as a pregnancy or its termination?
Secondly, the abortion issue is one of freedom of religion and separation of church and state. When the government succumbs to the will of the religious right, and begins to put the tenets of their beliefs into law, then this becomes a violation of the separation of church and state. It is clearly the legal “establishment of religion” as prohibited in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
When the government begins to take the specific beliefs of a religious sect or group and put these into law for everyone, this brings the First Amendment into consideration. If these tenets come from a radical fanatic group, it may be ever the more egregious.
It should be clear that putting tenets of religion into law is improper, illegal, and hazardous to personal liberty – even if those tenets are subscribed or voted by a majority of citizens. This infringes on individual rights, nevertheless, and thus is prohibited by the Constitution.
The Constitution is the guarantor of individual liberty.
Edwin E. Vineyard
