Abortion has always been a controversial issue because it revives the debate of separation of church and state in our American democracy. The decision of Roe vs. Wade was the landmark decision that allowed the federal government to allow a woman’s right to have an abortion legally in all of the states of the United States.

When does life begin? Is abortion really murder?

Abortion has caused Americans to ask questions of themselves and regardless of their views they have to put each other in that person’s shoes to understand the abortion issue. When abortion laws were passed the question of when does life begin was debated by doctors and medical professionals. Doctors and medical professionals testified in Congress that a fetus would begin to form the nerve endings that connected to the brain at about 20 weeks; using this data the abortion law was drafted as to the legal term limit a woman could have an abortion.

Abortion is considered not murder by law because it identifies the embryo as a fetus and not a person until the twenty weeks. Religious organizations and  Americans would argue that life starts at conception. Based on this concept, GOP representatives have tried to craft person-hood laws that would criminalize woman having abortions, using birth control, using artificial insemination and In Vitro fertilization. In addition, this law would not allow an abortion in the case in which a woman’s life was in medical danger, or in cases of rape or incest. Many GOP states rejected these laws because voters in states like Tennessee found it to be too extreme.

Whose Morality should be legislated?

This question is important because moral behavior is taught by our parents, our churches and our society. America is different than most countries because it is a melting pot of different cultures, different religions and of races. Separation of church and state has been an important doctrine that is stated in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This is important to deter that any one religion or group make laws that affect all Americans. Our forefathers had the foresight to see the growth of a true Democratic free society and to keep it that way.

When laws are created and implemented it is important that laws represent all Americans regardless of faith or non faith. Democracy is difficult because there are many diverse viewpoints that want to force their religious, political, economic views on all, especially when many religious people believe that America is in a moral decline. These religious groups attempt to influence how legislation is crafted by using religion to attract conservatives into a  political base.

An example: many conservatives and evangelicals align with the GOP Republican party because their party is perceived to promote family values, and self-reliance. These religious groups tend to volunteer and donate money to the GOP party in return to pass their social agenda of anti- abortion issues. These groups are one issue voters and tend to vote with supporters of their agenda. 

Should government control a woman’s body?

This is a political and moral issue that can be answered with one statement “NO”. The political argument is why should the government tell a woman what to do with her own body, when she is capable of coming to an informed decision with her medical doctor. Politicians are using woman’s health as a political agenda to win votes for aspirations of higher office. Many of these GOP conservatives believe in less government intervention, except when it comes to personal woman’s health issues.

A woman knows what is right for herself and her family and there may be many reasons why a woman may have an abortion which can range from social, economic or health issues. The moral argument is regardless of how a person may feel about abortion, it is a woman’s legal right under the Constitution. 

Many anti-abortionists want to force their viewpoints on these woman, with no real interest in aiding that particular person or her potential child. How many anti-abortionists will be there for the woman that gives birth to a child that she can’t support. How many moral conservatives will aid the thousands of children born into homes that do not want them. These people will be no where to be found because they want to force their morality and religious views upon woman who make these difficult choices everyday. 

Chances are if a woman makes this hard choice it is because she needs to, and has no other options, many conservatives tend to believe that woman make these decisions lightly. By the same token, these moral conservatives have argued against birth control because as introduced in their person- hood legislation, any measures that a woman takes to avoid getting pregnant or any medical procedures that might kill a fetus which is considered a person at birth. 

Many Americans would prefer to avoid women having more abortions by using contraception, but the conservatives tend to believe that offering birth control is promoting immoral behavior. Many conservatives in states like Texas advocate abstinence of sex in schools, Texas has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States. The less unwanted pregnancies, the less abortions, this is a common sense solution to prevent abortions.  American woman are not going to lose their rights over their own reproductive health because Rick Perry or Ted Cruz want to be President. 

In summary, Americans are litigating the same issues that they had already won in the Supreme Court. Many conservatives instead, of winning the hearts and minds of Americans by spreading the word in communities they would never visit, force their moral religious views on others by aligning with the GOP.  These conservatives don’t care about bread and butter issues such as what is best for this country, such as a Jobs bill, gun legislation, or voting rights. Instead, they focus on anti abortion laws, and family values that ideally are held by the GOP. 

Wonder if they forgave Mark Sanford or David Vitter; anyhow, conservatives believe that Christianity is under attack in the United States and that moral decline is rampant in the United States. Those beliefs could be held because of the media’s reporting of crimes by youth, or news stories about negative incidents in minority neighborhoods. There is never any positive news that gets real national attention unless it is picked up on social media. 

If the social conservatives want to change their perception of a declining moral America, than go into the communities that need to hear your message. Don’t force legislation based on moral or religious viewpoints; because that is when we stop being a Democracy and we become a Theocracy.