The debate on abortion has always been presented with two sides of the argument that appears to be two interestingly different topics; Pro-life and pro-choice.
Pro-life revolves around the concept that a baby is a human life and therefore, above any justification, cannot be ended. Pro-choice argues that a woman's body is her own and her right to choice has primacy over any other possible concerns.
This interesting proposition about pro-choice came from modern feminist groups coming from a background where male alcoholism and wife-beating are quite common and where recent laws redefining rape to include a husband against wife were long overdue. Hence, modern feminism considers men dictating to women their duty to carry through an unwanted pregnancy a return to a woman's body being seen as the property of her husband.
Considering the notion of morality, if one believes morality to be a set of rules made up as is most convenient to regulate behavior, then one could form the view that since men have no experience of pregnancy, it should be the women who decide all moral issues relating to pregnancy.
However, if it is believed that morality is real, and therefore should not be created, rather be sought after, then an experience of morality should be given more consideration that pregnancy.
The premise that all people are free is then valid if it is accepted that a woman is free to do with her body as she pleases.
A group of Aussie men setting out on a fishing trip can be used as a demonstration to tackle some thoughts on the nature of freedom, duty and responsibility, as they exist, and how they might apply to pregnancy.
A distress call is heard over the radio during a fishing trip organized yearly by a group of men from Darwin. They speed up towards the sinking vessel abiding to the rules of the sea since they are the closest boat, only to find out that the sinking boat was not an Australian boat but rather a boat used for smuggling.
In this demonstration, do the fishermen have the right to turn around and go back to fishing, or are they bound by the rules of the sea to try to tow that boat to safety?
The rules of the sea are a code of duty. The captain of any ship is free to do what he likes with his ship. But the code of the sea is a duty of care, it extends to all people at sea and it is a duty of reciprocity. Its moral force comes from the reciprocity. If your boat is sinking, it is their duty to rescue you. If they are sinking, it is your duty to rescue them.
Born or unborn, a pregnant woman has a very similar reciprocal duty to take care of a baby. Whether a woman complies or not, any person still has the right to recall her to her duty even if her body is her own.
There are experiences when a woman's compromised health gets in the way of her fulfilling that duty. But, it is best to consider how convenient your own birth was to your parents before you think of your own pregnancy as inconvenient.
Just as your parents did their duty towards you, that baby is relying on you to do your duty if you are pregnant. Like a captain who does not respond to the distress call of a sinking boat, if there are reasons why you cannot fulfill that duty at this point, those reasons should be pretty good reasons.
Pro-life revolves around the concept that a baby is a human life and therefore, above any justification, cannot be ended. Pro-choice argues that a woman's body is her own and her right to choice has primacy over any other possible concerns.
This interesting proposition about pro-choice came from modern feminist groups coming from a background where male alcoholism and wife-beating are quite common and where recent laws redefining rape to include a husband against wife were long overdue. Hence, modern feminism considers men dictating to women their duty to carry through an unwanted pregnancy a return to a woman's body being seen as the property of her husband.
Considering the notion of morality, if one believes morality to be a set of rules made up as is most convenient to regulate behavior, then one could form the view that since men have no experience of pregnancy, it should be the women who decide all moral issues relating to pregnancy.
However, if it is believed that morality is real, and therefore should not be created, rather be sought after, then an experience of morality should be given more consideration that pregnancy.
The premise that all people are free is then valid if it is accepted that a woman is free to do with her body as she pleases.
A group of Aussie men setting out on a fishing trip can be used as a demonstration to tackle some thoughts on the nature of freedom, duty and responsibility, as they exist, and how they might apply to pregnancy.
A distress call is heard over the radio during a fishing trip organized yearly by a group of men from Darwin. They speed up towards the sinking vessel abiding to the rules of the sea since they are the closest boat, only to find out that the sinking boat was not an Australian boat but rather a boat used for smuggling.
In this demonstration, do the fishermen have the right to turn around and go back to fishing, or are they bound by the rules of the sea to try to tow that boat to safety?
The rules of the sea are a code of duty. The captain of any ship is free to do what he likes with his ship. But the code of the sea is a duty of care, it extends to all people at sea and it is a duty of reciprocity. Its moral force comes from the reciprocity. If your boat is sinking, it is their duty to rescue you. If they are sinking, it is your duty to rescue them.
Born or unborn, a pregnant woman has a very similar reciprocal duty to take care of a baby. Whether a woman complies or not, any person still has the right to recall her to her duty even if her body is her own.
There are experiences when a woman's compromised health gets in the way of her fulfilling that duty. But, it is best to consider how convenient your own birth was to your parents before you think of your own pregnancy as inconvenient.
Just as your parents did their duty towards you, that baby is relying on you to do your duty if you are pregnant. Like a captain who does not respond to the distress call of a sinking boat, if there are reasons why you cannot fulfill that duty at this point, those reasons should be pretty good reasons.
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Want to know more about hunting and social issues? Why not try David Greentree's new book, 'Tom Grafton Vs The Environmentalists'.