Abortion pictures on my walk home

A number of people from www.showthetruth.ca held large placards with graphic pictures of aborted fetuses at the corner of University Ave. and Seagram today. Here is a taste of what they were displaying (taken from their pamphlet).


I looked through their pamphlet, and it was effective, but for the wrong reasons. I've always been wary that my emotions only reflect what feels best, not necessarily what is best. Given that I have 3 children, it's not surprising that I felt a tinge of sorrow for the unborn, bloody babies.

But, I don't think that's the best way to think about abortion. Nobody wants to get an abortion. It's not like it makes you feel good. But it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a situation where abortion is the lesser of two evils.

Their pamphlet states, "we need science to tell us when life begins." That's like asking where the end of a circle is. There is no clear-cut instant when a new life is formed. It's all a gradual chemical process with a few milestones along the way. So I'm afraid science isn't going to help there. But this is not really a scientific question, anyway; it's a value judgement.

Not surprisingly, their web page is sprinkled with Christian biblical quotes. Using the bible to support their views is probably the least scientific thing they could possibly do.

What I don't like is that some people feel pompous enough to try to introduce laws that will limit others who don't share their viewpoint. I don't mind them showing the pictures. I'm just glad I live in a country that is rational enough to give women the choice. Last I checked, the world wasn't short of people.

I'm not saying that abortion is a great replacement for birth control, or that a woman should be allowed to abort a fetus whenever she pleases. I also acknowledge that many people want to adopt babies. All I'm saying is that it should be a choice. And perhaps it's better to make a rational choice than an emotionally-charged choice.

Murder: Right or Wrong?

Thanks to all those who commented on my earlier post. Though ALL the comments were on Facebook, rather than on the blog itself. In case you didn't know, these blog posts are from my blog Intelligent Falling, and are automatically posted to my Facebook page. I'd prefer comments to appear on my blog, especially since Facebook seems to limit the length of the comments on notes.

It was such a great response that I thought I'd stir the pot a bit more.

Murder, right or wrong? I say neither, since I don't believe in right and wrong. Or, at least I don't believe in any absolute, cosmic notion of right and wrong. In my view, right and wrong is only defined by our society. Whatever doesn't jibe with those that live and work with us... well, that's what we call wrong. And it doesn't take long for a murder-happy population to hack-and-slash itself into extinction. So, the only ones left are those that outlaw -- or at least manage -- murder.

As you might have noticed, this view is consistent with the views that I expressed in my previous blog post, that there is really no fundamental difference between living and non-living matter. We're just organized piles of chemicals. And there's nothing fundamentally wrong with rearranging a glob of chemicals.

That said, I want to clarify that I have no interest in going to jail, so I don't kill people. I also have a human brain, so I come ready-equipped with all the irrational behaviours that we've come to know and love.

Ants working together

Why do societies abolish murder? Because society invests in each person; every member of a society holds a piece of that society's capital. That's why societies have a process in place to try to distinguish its productive members from its unrecoverable liabilities (we call it the court of law). Abortion can be gauged on the same societal-investment basis, but that's a topic for another blog post.