Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Why abortion should not be legal (what justice requires)

Justice requires that governments protect the basic rights of every member of the human family. The facts of science demonstrate that the unborn (i.e., the human embryo or fetus) is a distinct, living and whole organism of the species Homo sapiens, like each of us, only at a very early stage in his or her development. Further, it is a basic moral principle—affirmed in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights—that all human beings are equal in fundamental dignity and ought to be respected and protected. Therefore, the law should protect unborn human beings just as it protects each of us. Any policy that permits the killing of unborn children for elective reasons is gravely unjust.