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| Abortion ends a human life. |
There are some facts concerning this argument that even a layman can understand:
- The blood type of the unborn child may be different from the mother and the body cannot function with two different blood types.
- The genetic markers (cells) of the unborn baby are genetically distinct from the mother
- There is a good possibility the unborn child will be a male, obviously the mother is female
- There are cases where the unborn child has died and the mother survived
- There are cases where the mother died and the unborn child survived
In the case of People of the State of Calif v. Scott Lee Peterson, Scott Peterson was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. Since his wife was pregnant, her death also resulted in the death of their unborn child. Mr. Peterson was convicted on two counts of murder, one for his wife and one for his unborn child. There should be no doubt that the legal system in this case considered an unborn baby to be a person and a separate individual.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is an international human rights treaty that was ratified by the United States in 1992. The ICCPR became the "supreme law of the land" under the Supremacy Clause of the U. S. Constitution. Among the rights included in the ICCPR are rights associated with a person sentenced to death.
Part III, Article 6(5), states;
"Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women".This international law makes it illegal to execute a pregnant woman because the human being living inside her cannot be executed for the crimes of the mother. This would lead one to believe that international law regards an unborn baby as an individual, a separate human being.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL);
"Currently, at least 38 states have fetal homicide laws. The states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. At least 23 states have fetal homicide laws that apply to the earliest stages of pregnancy ("any state of gestation," "conception," "fertilization" or "post-fertilization")".
It appears that most states are leaning toward the opinion that an unborn baby is a separate human being and not just an appendage of the mother. Once all states agree that the unborn baby is a separate being living inside the mother, the argument that a woman can justify abortion because it's her body will be a moot point.
The 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade ruled that a woman has the right to choose an abortion as a "right of privacy". Since Roe, the high court has appeared to have second thoughts. In the 1989 Supreme Court case Webster v. Reproductive Health Services 492 U.S. 490, the justices seemed divided. Justices Rehnquist, White and Kennedy recommended revisiting the Roe decision and Justice Scalia went so far as to suggest that the court overturn Roe. Justice Blackmun stated, in part; "a chill wind blows" for those who support Roe.
With the states establishing laws to protect the unborn and with public opinion increasingly demanding change, there is certainly a possibility that the decision in Roe will be eventually overturned.
It appears that the entire abortion debate revolves around one word - "person". Many courts of law have tried to define a "person" as someone who has been born alive. This definition would obviously eliminate all babies that are stillborn. What member of a free society would see a stillborn baby in any other light than the tragic death of a child? Once society decides to declare an unborn baby to be a person, then all unborn babies will have all the protection and liberties provided in our Constitution.
All medical information between a person and a doctor is supposed to be privileged information. The decision to have or not have any type of medical procedure should remain private and does not need any interference from state or federal law.
If all people could only agree that an unborn baby is really a distinct individual who should have the same "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" we all enjoy, then the debate over the justification of abortion might be more easily resolved.
I realize there are other ideas and opinions on this topic. That's what makes this country so great. Please join me on LinkedIn and Google+.
As a freelance writer, I write on many other topics outside government, law, and politics. If you need some help writing those high quality blog posts, you can get in touch over here. - Ken
