Rep. Rachel Weston (D-Burlington) on pending bills regarding “fetal personhood” in the Vermont legislature, and the implications for abortion rights… could this become an election issue with pro-life Lieutenant Governor Dubie in the run for Governor?
Maybe we should make it one.
Update: Worth a reminder that, for Christians, the Bible is fairly direct on the incident Weston refers to:
“And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no [further] injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any [further] injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” – Exodus 21:22-25
In other words, causing a miscarriage is a crime, but it is not the crime of murder. Not by a long shot. If you want to entertain yourself, google this phrase and see how the conservative Christian set try and contort themselves into pretzels to try to force it to fit into their preexisting, supposedly “biblical” viewpoint.
Let’s take the issue to them! It’s all about personal freedom and getting big government out of our private lives! It’s time to reframe the argument, claiming the moral and constitutional high-ground for personal choice! I’m tired of politician’s wincing and side-stepping when they are accused of being “pro-abortion.” Nobody is “pro-abortion,” but we all should be in favoring of making the individual responsible for her or his own choices with regard to what goes on inside one’s own body. And this does not mean signing-off on making it a personal decision as to safety precautions with regard to operating a vehicle ie.seatbelt laws; cell-phone and texting laws; helmet laws. Those are examples of vehicular regulations; and while they offer some protection to the individual involved, they also protect the safety and monetary interests of society as a whole. Having unwanted, abused and neglected children is cruel and does nothing whatsoever to protect the best interests of society as a whole
…which cause a woman to miscarriage, not because of fetal personhood, but because it interferes with her right to choose whether or not to have a child.