The Right to Privacy?
I'm very saddened by what's going on in Florida this week. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the Palm Beach State Court ruled a 13 year old girl could have an abortion against the wishes of her legal guardian. The girl was under the legal custody of The Department of Children & Families whose written policy is "In no case shall the department consent to sterilization, abortion or termination of life support." The state ruled this policy is in conflict with state law protecting a minor's right to have an abortion without parental consent. And of course, the liberal Florida court system which killed Terri Schiavo and almost stole the 2000 election sided on the pro-abortion side.
Courts are more and more citing a right to privacy that every citizen has, but Ben Shapiro is correct in what we are really seeing is them establishing a constitutional right to liberal socialism. Sometimes a right to privacy is a good thing. Your employer shouldn't have the right to review your medical records and fire you if you've had back problems in the past. The State shouldn't be allowed to police what goes on between consenting adults in the bedroom behind closed doors. But a blanket "right to privacy" creates a slippery slope that can be used to justify any deviant behavior.
In the case of the 13 year old girl, the deviant behavior is more than the abortion. Put the whole abortion debate aside for a minute. (Don't worry, we'll get to that today before the end of this post) What is being justified is her right to have sex and not have to deal with the consequences of raising a baby. Of course, she wouldn't have to raise the baby. It's obvious she doesn't want the baby. But she is in the custody of the state. So it would be no problem for her to hand the baby over to the state. The waiting list to adopt children is years long. There are literally tens of thousands of adults out there eager to adopt a baby. So that brings us to the real underlying issue here. She just doesn't want to deal with the pregnancy. She doesn't want the morning sickness (which she's probably already experiencing if she's 14 weeks along). She doesn't want the swollen ankles and the stretch marks. So for that she is willing to kill her baby. It's quite a shallow view. A childish view, if you will, fitting of a 13 year old.
It really angers me when I hear people say "It's her body. It's her choice. It's just a fetus. etc." What about the rights of the unborn child? Besides Biblical arguments against abortion, there are also medical and legal arguments supporting the fact it is a living person inside the mother's womb. But there was another time in our country when people were considered property of another man and the courts looked the other way when the owner chose to "terminate his property." I thought we had moved beyond the thought of people as property back in the days of slavery. Abortion is just that. One person saying my external looks are more important than your life. It's a shame this barbaric practice is allowed in this country when most of the world has outlawed abortion on demand.
Courts are more and more citing a right to privacy that every citizen has, but Ben Shapiro is correct in what we are really seeing is them establishing a constitutional right to liberal socialism. Sometimes a right to privacy is a good thing. Your employer shouldn't have the right to review your medical records and fire you if you've had back problems in the past. The State shouldn't be allowed to police what goes on between consenting adults in the bedroom behind closed doors. But a blanket "right to privacy" creates a slippery slope that can be used to justify any deviant behavior.
In the case of the 13 year old girl, the deviant behavior is more than the abortion. Put the whole abortion debate aside for a minute. (Don't worry, we'll get to that today before the end of this post) What is being justified is her right to have sex and not have to deal with the consequences of raising a baby. Of course, she wouldn't have to raise the baby. It's obvious she doesn't want the baby. But she is in the custody of the state. So it would be no problem for her to hand the baby over to the state. The waiting list to adopt children is years long. There are literally tens of thousands of adults out there eager to adopt a baby. So that brings us to the real underlying issue here. She just doesn't want to deal with the pregnancy. She doesn't want the morning sickness (which she's probably already experiencing if she's 14 weeks along). She doesn't want the swollen ankles and the stretch marks. So for that she is willing to kill her baby. It's quite a shallow view. A childish view, if you will, fitting of a 13 year old.
It really angers me when I hear people say "It's her body. It's her choice. It's just a fetus. etc." What about the rights of the unborn child? Besides Biblical arguments against abortion, there are also medical and legal arguments supporting the fact it is a living person inside the mother's womb. But there was another time in our country when people were considered property of another man and the courts looked the other way when the owner chose to "terminate his property." I thought we had moved beyond the thought of people as property back in the days of slavery. Abortion is just that. One person saying my external looks are more important than your life. It's a shame this barbaric practice is allowed in this country when most of the world has outlawed abortion on demand.
posted by Mike at 1:06 PM
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