Great Quote -
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." Dennis Wholey
And an Ethical Question -
"If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had eight kids already, three of whom were deaf, two blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an abortion?"
I found the above quote and this ethical question in my bookshelves as clippings from old newspapers - from the days before I used the Internet and couldn't copy and paste things into computer files or a blog - which was only a few years ago. I found mountains of clippings like these in my mother-in-law's files as well when we cleaned out her little office after she died. I guess that is what we used to do. Clip and shoebox.
To get back to the ethical question. I believe abortion has to stay legal. I must admit, though, I am getting more and more clumsy at defending my position, especially in light of how this freedom of choice is being abused so casually by so many. As with all freedoms, they come with inbuilt responsibilities. Every time we are irresponsible we risk losing these freedoms.
Like many who are pro-choice - I am against abortion at all cost - yet for keeping it legal for the very unfortunate circumstances in which it might be the most compassionate choice for the child, the mother or a family. Who would want to be the judge of what circumstances that would be? This responsibility is the mother's and it is a great one. So - in summary - anyone's answers to the above question does not matter. It was Beethoven's mother's choice to make, and contrary to what we might expect, she may even have had a choice, as women and midwives in those days knew the herbs one could take to induce miscarriage.
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." Dennis Wholey
And an Ethical Question -
"If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had eight kids already, three of whom were deaf, two blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an abortion?"
I found the above quote and this ethical question in my bookshelves as clippings from old newspapers - from the days before I used the Internet and couldn't copy and paste things into computer files or a blog - which was only a few years ago. I found mountains of clippings like these in my mother-in-law's files as well when we cleaned out her little office after she died. I guess that is what we used to do. Clip and shoebox.
To get back to the ethical question. I believe abortion has to stay legal. I must admit, though, I am getting more and more clumsy at defending my position, especially in light of how this freedom of choice is being abused so casually by so many. As with all freedoms, they come with inbuilt responsibilities. Every time we are irresponsible we risk losing these freedoms.
Like many who are pro-choice - I am against abortion at all cost - yet for keeping it legal for the very unfortunate circumstances in which it might be the most compassionate choice for the child, the mother or a family. Who would want to be the judge of what circumstances that would be? This responsibility is the mother's and it is a great one. So - in summary - anyone's answers to the above question does not matter. It was Beethoven's mother's choice to make, and contrary to what we might expect, she may even have had a choice, as women and midwives in those days knew the herbs one could take to induce miscarriage.
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