Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
I'm not apologizing for anything because I do not see this as a major issue, just like I don't see abortion as a major issue. It just seems to me that Bush's position on this is consistent with his pro-life views, though, inconsistent with his pro-dealth penalty views. Similarly, the left's positions are consistent with the death penalty views, but inconsistent with their pro-choice/abortion views.
I have not yet formed a position on either stem cell research or abortion, though I tend to side on the side of science in most cases. I am anti-death penalty.
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Just as I am marginally anti-death penalty because I don't want to live in a world in which even one wrongly convicted person is put to death in my name, I am pro-choice not because I think abortions are justified in all cases, or that the embryo or fetus is not a human being (I frankly don't know), but because I don't want to live in a world in which even one woman is compelled to carry an unwanted child to term and experience the birth of that child. It's horrifying so long as options exist. I further don't want to live in a world in which prosecutors must "abortion qualify" juries to convict women of having criminal abortions because they want to combat jury nullification and cut out the 30-49% of persons in their jurisdiction who don't believe abortion should be a crime, period.
Bottom line --- the criminal law should not be used to combat social problems that fewer than 90% of the people agree is a problem. Until nearly everyone agrees a fetus is human, it shouldn't be called murder.
In the meantime, this argument is being hard-fought because it shows that Bush believes eternal moral principles outweigh all negative practical effects. You think this is a virtue. I think it's a vice. We both can agree it's a repudiation of the older conservative principle that politicians should take responsibility for
all consequences of a policy, even the unintended consequences. Instead, the Administration is denying the existence of any unintentional consequences, period. It's all McClellan-speak.
