The Government is here to help you...

[lazs2]

miko... I am a little disapointed in your answer.  It appears that you have no opinion.   I think we should discount what they do in other countries except intelectually ...  

I think it is important enough to have an concensous on.   My opinion is that a person has "rights" as soon as he can survive outside the womb.   I can not prevent people from any kind of murder unless I catch them..  this would be no different.   I believe that you are overthinking it.   People have the right to not be killed by others and they have the right to defend themselves.   If they can't defend themselves it is societies duty to do so.

The way we do so is the question is... how do we defend each other?   How do we catch those who would commit crimes against others?   We investigate.   if we can't investigate without violating peoples rights then... maybe we never catch the bad guy but we have to try.   First we have to decide who is the bad guy tho...

other countries asside... most of us would agree that the mother who drowns a 1 year old because it is too much work is a murderer.   we work back from there.

I really don't know the answer but we certainly need a policy.  

I have told you what I think should be the policy.   I would like to hear what you think should be done.

So far... it appears that you feel a person doesn't have rights till they are (depending on intellect and maturity) somewhere between 5-100... This is not a very specific or enforceable policy... it would create more problems than it would solve it seems to me.

I believe a certain amount of courage is required here in making this important decision... as much as was required to frame the original bill of rights I believe.

lazs

[capt. apathy]

I don't know about uncle fred, but it is a huge difference whether the state or the mom is entitled to decide - and enforce such decision.

really whats the difference (just for arguments sake, I in no way suport gov't ordered abortion, or any abortion)?  why is it more wrong for society to order abortions of people they feel it would be inconvienient to allow to be born, than for a mother to order the killing of her unborn child for the same reason?

  is it because the mother doesn't get to decide?  why does her opinion matter, if the fetus isn't yet a child then she isn't yet it's mother and should have no special rights in it's life.

[Sixpence]

Originally posted by miko2d
Dago: Over 400,000 deaths per year in the USA are directly caused by tobacco. Why not? MONEY

 BS. Caused by people to themselves using tobacco.

 miko

It goes a little deeper than that Miko. For years the tobacco industry did not have to list what it was putting in it's product. Why? Dunno, everything else you consume into your body lists it's content. Well, years later they were forced to do so. It seems they were putting anything with addictive qualities into the cigs. Sugar, chocolate, molasses, you name it. I do not need to go through the numbers to show you what cigs have done to the health of our nation.

Sometimes you cannot apply free market to everything, unless of course, you think heroin would stimulate the economy and create a great nation.