Opinion:

Difficult issues

Kevin at Wizbang is the first blogger I've seen to post on the story of a woman charged with murder by showing "depraved indifference to human life" in refusing to have a cesarian section performed on her for the birth of her twins to prevent the predicted death of one of the two children. This is a very complex story, with some questions regarding the competence of the woman in question.

I am uncertain in the ethics of this situation, just as I am uncertain in the abortion debate. In both cases, I can see the point of view of the interventionists (either those who want to mandate an c-section to save a potential life or those who want to make abortion illegal to achieve the same goal of defending the ostensibly defenseless), but I also can comprehend and see the reasonableness of those opposed to intervention (those who say a woman deserves to have control over her body, whether in the choice of a having a c-section versus a natural birth or choosing to undergo an abortion of a child that does not yet truly exist).

These are issues where my preference for individual responsibility conflict with the desire to protect those who cannot defend themselves. These are issues which remind me that this is an imperfect world where we have to be wiling to acknowledge that there is indeed evil in the world and sometimes that evil is the conflict between two fundamental rights, but that those caught inside the conflict are not themselves evil.

Defending the defenseless versus the right to choose what happens to your own body. Where is the line? Is there even a line, or is it all shades of grey in a world that demands certainty?

Posted by Jack at 20:52 on Saturday 13 March 2004 | Trackbacks (0)