There is lots of legislation in the Old testament.. God commanding stoning of adulterers AND MURDERERS..
That is true.
But, even according to OT law, not everything that was immoral was regarded as a criminal offense. Thus, determining the relationship between immorality and criminality seems to entail somewhat of an exercise in line-drawing. Likewise, in the abortion discussion, among many people who refer to themselves as pro-
choice the question is not whether or not abortion is immoral, but whether or not this is one of those sins that falls on the side of behavior that should be regulated by the state or whether it is behavior that should be regulated by a person's conscience. I think there is room in the church for that discussion to take place, even though I believe that it is appropriate for the State to exercise at least some control over abortion.
Incidentally, another poster pointed out that, under OT law to cause a miscarriage was treated as a civil matter, rather than a criminal one. Thus, it seems that reliance on the OT law would seem, in some ways, to support a pro-choice viewpoint. I am not endorsing this view, but simply trying to show that it is not as black and white as you seem to think it is.
It is illegal to kill a 2 year old, or an adult.. why different for a 4 month year old in the womb??
A 4 month year old??? I assume you mean a 4 month old. The difference would seem to be a small little thing called birth. Some people actually believe that life begins at birth. Hence, each year we celebrate the day we are born, rather than day we are conceived, and we measure the span of our lives in reference to our birthday, rather than our conception day. I am not saying that this makes abortion okay, but let's be real! There is definitiely a meaningful distinction between a child who has been born and one that is still in the womb.
You (and incidentally, so do I) define human life as beginning at some point prior to birth. I assume you place the line at conception. But, is this line any less arbitrary than placing the line at birth? One could also argue that life begins when the embryo implants itself in the uterus. Another could argue that life begins when the sperm cell and the egg come into existance (thus, to use birth control is murder). Let's not confuse our determinations of when life begins with the morality of murder. Generally people who support "a woman's right to choose", even if they believe that abortion immoral, believe that it is something less then murder, simply because they define the beginning of life differently than you do.
And, incidentally, I have yet to come across a scripture that says clearly that life begins at conception. So, once again, the issue is not so black-and-white as you would like to pretend.
I just cant see a true believer being pro-choice..
Just because you can't see it, doesn't make it so.
I honestly think this is a femenist issue.. and unfortunatly it has gone so far as to condemn murder.. but also I think it is a much deeper issue pshycologically to support the murdering of an infant..
Well, if it is a feminist issue, then it must be evil. Those darn women trying to act like they have rights too. Don't they know they are supposed to submit!?!?!?
Seriously, though,.I have yet to meet a pro-choicer who supports murdering infants. Usually, if someone is pro-choice, then they support a woman's right to end the life of her fetus and/or embryo. The word "infant" implies a child that is already born. Whatever you may believe about when life begins, a fetus or an embryo is not an infant any more than an infant is an adolescent. Each word describes a specific life stage, which is distinguishable from the others. Let's be intellectually honest in our use of language in this discussion.
I cannot do it without having a guilty conscious.. If I voted pro-choice it would tear at my conscious the rest of my life..
Then don't do it. Just don't assume that a believer who disagrees with you is insincere in his or her faith. That's easy enough.
Why have people lost their guilty conscious.. Have we become so hardened and jaded that its ok to advocate murder??
I won't beat this dead horse any longer.
What will be next?? Sending an unwanted child to be given lethal injection because nobody wants him??
A nice slippery slope argument, but as long as the liberal consensus seems to be that life begins at birth, this is not a likely consequence of the pro-choice position. Hence, the slippery slope is generally regarded as a weak arguing technique based upon a logical fallacy.
Just to clarify, I am not pro-choice, but in general, I don't believe that there are many political/social opinions that are clearly dictated by Scripture. Thus, even on the abortion issue, there seems to me to be plenty of room for debate even among "true believers."
