ModestlyHotGirl wrote:
I guess one's stance on this issue has a lot to do with how one understands human ontogeny.
Yes, I agree 100%. The fetus, the placenta, and the unbilical cord have the child's DNA exclusively (barring damage), and I think that my right to swing my fist about ends at your nose. So I believe (biologically), once the DNA have merged to create a new human in that first zygotic cell, a new person (who should have rights) exists, and the right for anyone to do harm to themselves ends where that child's body starts (placenta/umbilica).
I have no desire to opress anyone. I don't believe there's any vast conspiracy to keep women down by some secret masculinist underground society that controls the government and business. If there were, I'd be against it. I don't want any women anywhere to be repressed (another reason I'm SO GLAD we toppled the Taliban, the government that was the most opressive to women in modern history).
My opinions and actions have to do with my scientific observations and my understanding of the meaning of that science. No societal or gender issues even enter into the equation!
ModestlyHotGirl wrote:
I can't deny that abortion is, by some standards, murder. But, in my opinion, due to the lack of development shown...
This line of reasoning is the only justification for abortion that I will accept. The line af reasoning about economics and social opportunities is all secondary to the question of whether the thing is a human.
I cite one U.S. precedent, which I don't know about Canadian analogues. For all endangered species that lay eggs, the law that makes it illegal to kill a species member (say, the bald eagle or some kinds of owls) extends to the eggs. If you destroy a living bald eagle egg, you get hauled in for violating the endangered species ordinance. Legally, you've destroyed a bald eagle. So the federal government has decided that unborn creatures are living representatives of their species. It is not the executive nor the legislative branch of our government that has fallen, it is the judicial branch. The same basic group of self-serving activists that just killed Terri Schiavo in cold blood.
And the Didymus thing may need some explaining to a strong, self-asserting woman like yourself. For centuries, men have not only oppressed women in open society, but have oppressed them sexually behind closed doors. This hapens today in, dare I say, every single coed high school in the world. Giving a man more tools to rape and to justify his raping is paramount to continuing opression. If a boy is pressuring his girlfriend to have sex when she doesn't want to, she can no longer say "no, I might get pregnant." The female is thus disarmed from her former weapon of shame since abortion is an alternative.
I hope you never, ever have this problem. But anything that takes power away from women and gives it to sexual predators is, in my book, continuing millenia of sexual opression.
Of course, it wasn't until a few weeks ago that a man in the U.S. could legally kill his own wife. Now, with Michael Schiavo's test case out of the way, the we can prepare for a complete reversal of any progress we've made in the way of womens' rights.
ModestlyHotGirl wrote:
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects all Canadians' rights. If the woman in question is not brave/strong/confident enough to refuse abortion based on her beliefs, the fact that the option to abort exists doesn't have much effect on that.
We supposedly have such a list of rights, but the judges I've mentioned are misrepresenting every single one so as to push something bad down our throat while making illegal the original right. For example, we have the right to free speech. What that
means is that we have the right to any poitical opinion and to express it. What it's been turned into is a license for rappers to cuss, slanderers to slander, and people to lie under oath, while at the same time the judges have ruled that non-profit organizations are banned from expressing political opinions and public records of politicians! The same kind of thing is happening to all of our rights. Innocent Terri Schiavo is killed while many States don't have death penalties for psychopathic serial killers.
ModestlyHotGirl wrote:
I'm angry on behalf of all the women who are feeling oppressed by this issue.
In short, the topic upsets me because, were I to live elsewhere than Canada, my rights would be compromised. And I don't agree with that.
I said last page that you didn't have to be involved. It's OK, sometimes us guys get to talking and even arguing. While I am impressed by your bravery, I hope you didn't feel unreasonably compelled to post.
Many times I read a post that offends me. More often than not, I pass it by and close the tab. Sometimes I do swing in and let people know what's up, but there's really not a special place in the forum where only guys can read so we could keep you safe. In a certain sense, your right to read has been protected!
Even in Canada, your rights are limited. You can't go to the corner market, buy a gun, and shoot your boss before work (or teacher before class). The question is not a general one about all rights, or even comparison with other countries. It's a question as to whether you can do what you want to do, and your appreciation for that ability.
ModestlyHotGirl wrote:
Apologies in advance if I've offended, ...I don't want to beat any points to death here, so I'll stop now.
None perceived, and you covered your points with the perfect level of thoroughness. And I have only respect for you (well, as much as someone can garner in an internet forum within reason).