Reply #98: Well that is the question...

[MellowDem]

Part of the question is one of a right to privacy over one's own body, but the part that confuses the issue is that many consider a fetus to have rights as well. So then there is another side of the question about ethics.

The fact is, the debate involves both ideas, the right to privacy and rights for the fetus, and those obviously conflict with each other at some point. Hence the fact that it is legal to abort, but only under certain conditions.

But there are ways that what an individual does to their own body impacts society at large. I can list off a couple right now:

- Smoking
- Eating
- Drinking
- Drugs

All of these things that individuals do only to themselves can effect society at large in many ways as we have seen. Preferences for abortion, over time, definitely can have an effect on society as well, just go to certain towns in China.

And when I say "we already restrict abortion" I'm not positing an opinion, I'm just stating what is fact right now in this country.

I actually agree with you generally. For example, I think certain drugs should be legalized and regulated, prostitution legalized and regulated, etc. etc. But I guess where we disagree is over the regulation, which, after all, is supposed to prevent those individual activities from hurting society at large.