My point? I am happy i turned out the way i am. but alternately, i would never wish to put a single soul through even a tenth of what i've had to endure, and my life has been fairly tame compared to many others. if a woman knows she is incapable of raising her child properly, or is not emotionally ready for the task, then she should have the option to prevent that from happening. It's her body, her life. I'll even concede that it may be immoral at some level, depending on your view of life and the unborn child. But isn't it up to that woman to decide whether or not it's immoral? If it is, then let her live with it on her concious that she aborted a child.
With the death penalty, it's similar. Rather than being concerned with the value of an unborn child, the concern is with whether or not someone should recieve the ultimate punishment. Once again, what is your value of human life? Do you feel that those who have committed extreme crimes should be treated with such extreme measures? Personally, i think they should endure worse than death. But the american prison system babies its inmates and treats them better than most hotels. The american education system is worse punishment than the prison system. But should we put men to death? I'm mixed on the issue. I would rather let that person endure a long, grueling life in a sweat shop as punishment, being forced to endure living with their crimes. I would put them through a series of conditioning where they are forced to be reminded of the wrongness of their crime. Some would consider it torture and a cruelty that is undue in our civilized society. But to highten that sense of guilt and self-loathing, justice is being done. Many criminals, if giving the proper rehabilitation and shown exactly what effect their crimes have had (at least, true criminals and not your lame insurance fraud character...), will feel some level of guilt, remorse...On the other hand, i'd have no problem with serial killers, terrorists, etc. being executed. Their minds are beyond that of repair. In the end, it should be based off of the psychology of the individual, of what we can do socially to repair their minds, or if we can, and what should be done from there. Concentrate a little less on the guy growing pot in his basement, concentrate a little more on repairing and returning people to society.
Then again, i'm a walking contradicition...I'll prolly go through and edit this and repost it later...off to work...