Hi, Indeed and I suspect that a lot of folks who support abortion rights (myself included) view it as the lesser of two evils. Making abortion illegal will NOT stop it. Women will return to the ways they used out of desperation before 1973. What do you do or support if you really want to lower the number of abortions? Making it illegal is not the way.
The frustrating thing is that neither side in this debate seems to want to work toward lowering abortion rates in a constructive and sensible manner. The loudest voices on the right want not only to restrict or end access to abortion but also try to block funding for almost every effective means of contraception (except abstinence) thus revealing themselves to be driven not or not only by a wish to "protect the unborn" but also to impose one narrow view of morality and ?- or control female sexual behavior. It's really more like being "pro-pregnancy". Abstinece of course works perfectly?in fantasy world,?but simply will not fly as a practical method in a time when puberty begins before 12 and most do not marry until their late 20's. The loudest voices on the pro-abortion rights side views ANY attempt to circumscribe access as the beginning of the "slippery slope" toward complete restriction and regulation. Isn't it possible that people have reasons for abortion that could be viewed as unethical (i.e. sex selection to name just one?) Since our political process has devolved for many reasons into polarization, I don't see much hope of bringing both sides together on this one. I wonder why it has to be this way. Nancy Melucci Long Beach City College Long Beach CA -----Original Message----- From: Christine L. Grela <cgr...@mchenry.edu> To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> Sent: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 7:13 am Subject: [tips] more morality and critical thinking Since I added some fuel to the fire, let me add some more :) I think we really need to clarify our language regarding this discussion. Legality and morality, although roughly correlated, are not the same. Laws certainly are relative, and one could even argue arbitrary, but is morality the same? This actually connects back to the original question posed -- when is the appropriate time to question legalities (and authorities)? When do WE know that the law is wrong because there is a "higher" moral principle at stake? The abortion issue was raised in terms of whether or not we've "progressed" as a culture, and I think that is a fair question -- whether or not abortion is truly moral is an open question (although to some it certainly is closed). On the other hand, whether or not it's legal almost has nothing to do with its morality. I think the argument about cultural progression and legality is much more clear when discussing something like slavery. I think there are very few (and they would be of questionable moral character) who would actually argue that we should again legalize slavery because that was a morally superior cultural standard. But again, I would argue that even when it was legal, that certainly did not make it moral. Christine Grela Instructor of Psychology McHenry County College Office: C-124; Phone: 815-479-7725 cgr...@mchenry.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
