AboutDanielle Expertise I can answer questions regarding medical and surgical abortion, questions about abortion in general, like moral and religious issues concerning the procedure. I'm happy to answer questions, have discussions, and provide further information, like pro-choice websites and organizations.
Experience I have people close to me who have gotten abortions, I know the current abortion issues, and I have researched abortion in depth for a long time.
Expert: Danielle Date: 1/30/2008 Subject: Abortion and the death penalty
Question Hi Danielle. My question is in your personal opinion is it hypocritical for a person to be a strong opponent of the death penalty, but pro-choice?
I ask because I got into this discussion the other day with a friend of mine, and he called me a hypocrite for being pro-choice(and for having had an abortion) and being involved in anti death penalty activism and writing to death row inmates. He wants to know how I can feel a criminal has a right to life but not an "unborn baby". I did not know how I should respond to this argument, and I wasn't able to find any articles on-line regarding this subject. Please share your thoughts with me on this. I would really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Answer In my personal opinion, definitely not, since I'm strongly against the death penalty and pro-choice my self :)
Well, the way I always see it, is that the death penalty is the whole "killing people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong" paradox. The death row inmates (and that's neat that you're writing to them, sounds very interesting!)are already living, and breathing human beings. They know pain, and they'll feel pain when being killed. That embryo or fetus doesn't have a central nervous system, so it doesn't have pain receptors. The abortion isn't causing an ounce of pain to the fetus/embryo. It's very tough to explain something like this to pro-death penalty people, it's such a complex issues.
With the issue of abortion, the woman's life is at stake, and her bodily integrity trumps that fetus/embryo's right to life, period. I don't see that pregnancy as a person. I see the woman, and the unintended pregnancy that can cause severe damage to her emotional, physical, and mental health. I see those criminals as people. No, I don't condone the things they do, but they're still people, and American citizens. I also feel that the death penalty is a violation of the eight amendment (no cruel or unusual punishment). I think injecting a human being with something that will paralyze then kill them, or gassing them the way nazis slaughtered millions of Jews, is cruel and unusual, and unacceptable. I think inducing a miscarriage or scraping out the uterus and terminating something that can't even think or breathe is completely different.
I apologize for having a really bad explanation, but I've never actually thought of this before, and never even connected the two. I basically think that terminating a pregnancy is much different than killing a breathing human being. Terminating a pregnancy can benefit the woman, her family, the embryo/fetus/ her partner (if she ahs one) and already existing children if she has them. Killing a criminal provides solace for the family of the murdered, yes, but it saves no lives and does little to improve the situation
If that didn't provide any help, always feel free to message back and I'll try my best to explain further :)
