re: #89 cgn38navy

This is tricky and I’m sure to offend. Sorry in advance and I’ll try to be gentle.
Many people feel that just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it isn’t horrific and evil. Cultures have a way of legistlating for convenience of the times. Many examples throughout history. Also, many people feel that the end justifies the means. When you take those things into consideration it is easy to see why some people celebrated this murder.
I have nothing but sympathy for Dr. Tiller’s family, but I think partial birth abortion is an atrocity. I don’t believe any person should be murdered. I’m also against the death penalty, so I’m not your usual conservative.

Partial birth abortion is not what the name says it is. It isn’t abortion. It’s on the line between abortion and infanticide, and the morality of this gravely dubious procedure hinges on the question of whether the procedure is necessary to preserve the life of the mother.

If for some medical reason she cannot safely deliver, and cannot safely undergo a C-section, then, most regrettably, there is nothing for it but to do what has to be done to save the life of the mother.

That’s assuming she’d rather live, than give life to her baby but die as a result of the C-section. This just has to be her decision. The law cannot take it away from her. And it has to be her decision even if a C-section is merely life-threatening, rather than certain death.

Most partial-birth abortions have nothing at all to do with protecting the life of the mother. There is, in most cases, no real medical reason why the procedure could not be modified by deleting one small part of it, the part where the baby is killed. Biologically, a full term, healthy fetus is the same thing as a baby, give or take pedantic distinctions.

All this does not make partial birth abortions an atrocity, and it does not make those who kill abortionists heroes. Quite the contrary. Whatever the law may be, and even if it permits morally offensive things, we won’t be able to live with each other if every man is his own judge, jury, and firing squad. When the matter is sufficiently important, as with slavery, sometimes there may be no other answer than to kill each other until the pro-slavery side has had enough and yields the point. Partial birth abortion is a lesser evil than civil war. We have to put up with it, and work through persuasion and example to limit its frequency.

Killing abortionists teaches by example that killing people to get what you want is just fine, if you really really want it. That kind of mindset is exactly the problem. Mr. what’s his name, who should not even get any fame for what he did, has much to be ashamed of, and if he thinks he’s indirectly prevented a lot of abortions, he’s wrong. He’s made matters worse by every standard, even his own if he but understood.

Not that he does. Damned glory hound.