I find myself trying to vocalise my opinions as little as possible: I can't seem to agree with anything that I read anymore, even things that one can only, apparently, disagree with, have some right in them, and vice versa. I read an article and I can see that, if well written, it will naturally make you agree with them. I read very few where the opinion of the writer is so held back that you can actually form your own opinion: this isn't one of them.
I read this article http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/151508/15_year-old-girl_faces_life_in_prison_for_a_miscarriage_why_conservatives_are_criminalizing_pregnant_women and of course, it seems absurd. But carry on reading and you see that these are not "ordinary pregnant women" who are being criminalised: they are drug users. They will produce children who, if lucky enough to be healthy, will almost certainly have a tough, horrible, abusive childhood.
The article goes on to say that it foreshadows a new way of looking at women. It says this is all related to being against abortion. To me that seems only a speculation of the writer of the article, as it has not given me any reason to think so, on the contrary.
It seems to me that they are imposing harsher laws on mothers and fathers who think they have the almighty RIGHT to cook meth and do cocaine and smoke drugs and do heroin or be alcoholics with their children in or around them. Clearly they are not perfect in their application yet and they are susceptible to abuse, as most laws in these delicate matters are.
But, I suppose, the question is: if you think these women should not be made to fear for their freedom in discouragement from abusing their children, what does that say about how you feel the children should be protected, before and after their birth?
In general I agree, there should be protection. But:
ReplyDeleteWhen prosecutors discovered that she had a cocaine habit – though there is no evidence that drug abuse had anything to do with the baby's death – they charged her with the "depraved-heart murder" of her child, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
This is absurd and unfair. If there is no evidence, the sentence is nonsense, and "depraved-heart murder" sounds a grotesque way to describe it.
Yes, absolutely, it's typical American to overdo it. It is clearly exaggerated. But a good in-between balance, I would like. Just imagine how many less children would be born in these horrendous families if the parents realised that if they get pregnant, they HAVE to get minimum health? All it takes is freely available contraception.
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