A public letter to the state of Mississippi

*sigh*
So, it's that time of the decade. That time when a small group of "christians" try pushing an agenda counter to the status quo, under the auspice of "protecting" someone. In this case, a fertilized egg.

Let me start with my personal position. I have no kids. Not for lack of trying. But I had an operation as a kid that functions pretty well as a vasectomy. Despite this, I lost count on the number of times I heard the phrase "I think I'm pregnant". And each time, I secretly rejoiced. Though as time wore on, I stopped letting myself hope. I'm good with kids, I love shaping minds, and generally I feel that procreation is the ONLY way to keep people on this planet.

That said, I'm not only pro-abortion in the case of dangerous pregnancies, but I'm pro-choice. And if you'll bear with me, I'd like to tell you why.

The source.
First, I object to the source. Christianity. Not that the source IS Christianity, but that it's religion, it's dogma. Separation of Church and State is the very foundation of this county and every attempt to twist that degrades us. And it's not all christians, is a small group of folks that brought us 'creation in schools'. It's about The Wedge. The wedge is a plan to "return America to it's core christian values." They want abortion made illegal, they want women's rights repealed (like voting, and choosing their own manner of dress), and they want THEIR religion taught in schools. In short, they want the U.S. to have all the same things that terrify us about Islamic law.

[that's right folks, you vote against Roe v. Wade and the terrorists win!]

The Law.
Okay, so let's ignore the fact that this is about "abortion" and let's talk about "life". Long before abortion became an issue, we had a bunch of pretty well defined laws about what's "no longer alive". These laws vary slightly from state to state, but the long and short of them is that if the person cannot continue living without mechanical life support, and cannot answer for themselves, then the closest relative has the right to determine their fate. This is so accepted that "pulling the plug" is a common term for ending ANYTHING that's gone on too long.

Okay, so let's flip that over. If brain-dead mechanical assistance means "no longer alive" then brain-dead mechanical assistance can also mean "not yet alive". In short, the fetus is NOT a legal person UNTIL it can survive, on it's own, without mechanical (or biological) assistance. Now, I may not be completely current on the specifics here, but the last I heard, the earliest a child survived a premature birth was about 6 months. And with mechanical assistance about 4 months. I'm willing to assume that no child has, or would, willingly sign a DNR, so those states that require a mechanically assisted wait period should have that apply here too.

So, until we have facts to the contrary let's say 4 months is the earliest a fetus has survived to childhood. Heck, let's say 3. So, 3 months is where the "not yet alive" fetus (legally) becomes a "person" (legally). Prior to that, it has all the same rights (in that state, country, region) as a terminally ill person, not able to support their own life, and not responding to machines. If you choose to treat them as one of the family, great. If not, then a coat hangar in a back alley shouldn't be your only option (homework assignment: go watch Dirty Dancin' again).

Logic.
If we're going to get into legal structures, let's get deep. If someone has a knife in their hand and are slowly pushing it through your chest, to your heart, what are your legal rights? What are your Moral rights? Ethical rights? Think about it. Certain types of pregnancy are just this dangerous to the mother. If an egg deposits in the fallopian tube, the growing "child" will stretch and rupture it long before term, killing both the mother and the fetus. Suicide is illegal (irrational, but we'll get to that another time). Murder is illegal (everywhere). Why should we want laws that allow them in the case of pregnancy?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/07/1023558/-Occupy-My-Uterus-My-Ass!-Fertilized-Eggs-Are-NOT-People

Social
There are dangerous precedents involved here. If we flip these proposed abortion laws back over, then DNRs become illegal, unplugging people becomes illegal, and in short order, we have a vegetative hospice system that rivals the current penitentiary system in both size and cost.

Even in cases where the pregnancy isn't dangerous, there's issues. First, this affects how deep the government can drill into your life. There isn't just a "child" here, but the mother. Best case scenario, her body will be wracked with changes for 9 months, and then she'll be saddled with emotional and financial responsibilities for the rest of her life.

Then there's the financial aspects. Not only do I feel that a woman AND the father have a say in the pregnancy, but the people who have to pay for the results should too. If the mother is on welfare, shouldn't "the people" have a say in that particular pregnancy, or at least provide a proxy?

Compromise
I'm willing to concede that the "child" left growing inside it's mother will probably grow into a baby, and may live to vote. But one final point I'd like to make:
Does it HAVE to be inside THAT mother?
We've proven that in-vitro fertilization can work. In cases of rape, incest, drugs, ignorance, etc., can we just trade out the mothers before implantation occurs? How about freezing the fertilized egg until a host can be found? Then the egg can be moved and allowed it's chance? This works even if everything else is ignored. People of mississippi, I encourage you to ponder.