Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the impacting decision of the supreme court in 1973 which ruled in favor of abortion and legalized it. President Obama took the chance to explain how vital this decision was to ensure the rights of women to make choices about their own body. He stated that the supreme court ruled justly for it is not the federal government's duty to intervene in private family matters. He also states that he will veto the newly passed bill in Congress that would stop federal funding of abortions. The president finally stated that he is committed to reducing the need for abortions by trying to stop unintended pregnancies and promote adoption.
President Obama believes that a fetus is not in fact a human being and the only affected person is the involved mother; this is simply a matter of opinion it seems in today's society. Personally I believe that at conception a human being is conceived, not simply a fetus, so the act of abortion will not terminate the life of a fetus but also will terminate the life of a person. I agree that it is not the federal government's duty to intervene on private family matters, but we as humans have a moral duty to respect life, because it's pretty cool. Obama should provide tax cuts to those who choose to put their child up for adoption and for those who decide to adopt a child if he is so committed to reducing the need for abortions.
link to see all the president's quotes about the above topic: http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/01/22/obama-roe-vs-wade-supreme-court-abortion-rights-house-gop/22173457/
I think he can't necessarily go one way on the matter. All he can say as the president is that he respects the rights of women while not commenting on abortions themself. Obviously nobody is pro abortion per se. They just think that they have a right to an abortion. Its a very tricky situation, but morally there is no argument to allow abortions other than plain ignorance.. I agree with will that there should be incentive to choosing to have put your child up for adoption. I don't know how something like that would work, but it is a stellar idea.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he actually ever said that- he listed lower abortion rates as a *good* part of his pregnancy so he seems to at least believe that they aren't good. Additionally the two things he mentioned- lower teen pregnancy and lower abortion rates- point to a support of birth control and a reticence to support abortion. I personally would try to talk someone out of an abortion unless the preganancy was dangerous for the mother or the baby had fatal abnormalities. I would never encourage someone to do it, but I do consider myself pro-choice. If you want women to stop abortion, don't pass legislation shutting down safe abortion clinics- this just pushes women, particularly low-income women who are at high risk of unwanted pregnancies, to go to illegal, more dangerous places. Instead, make child care affordable, have paid paternity leave, ect (some of Obama's other ideas) so that having a child is not considered a financial burden. Allowing birth control to be paid for by the government so that people who can't afford it but aren't poor enough to get it for free (health clinics may only supply it for free to people who fit a certain financial category, and while it certainly cheaper at Planned Parenthood, this still applies).
ReplyDeleteWhoops- I meant 'presidency' not 'pregnancy' haha!
DeleteI don't think that Obama explicitly approves of abortion. He seems more concerned with a woman's right to chose to carry out the pregnancy. Abortion is probably the most controversial issue that our country is facing today, and I'm not sure how to solve. I think that ramifications of making it illegal could be very troublesome. I just don't know how to respond to this issue what so ever, which is why I'm glad that I'm not the president.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how he approached the abortion issue. I don;t think he is pro abortion, but he is pro choice. He was at least negative towards the idea of abortion. I think that is a huge step in finding some sort of compromise for the future. I like the idea of incentives for adoptions. It is a good start.
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