Week #7 Same Sex Marriage and Abortion

Same Sex Marriage

Throughout United States’ history, the issue of marriage between people of the same sex has been a heated debate.  For the longest time, same sex marriage was illegal, however Hawaii pioneered the equal rights effort in 1996 when the highest court ruled there must be a compelling public reason to prohibit gay marriage.  The U.S. Congress responded with the Defense of Marriage Act that same year.  DOMA redefined the word ‘marriage’ and specified that it meant only between a man and woman.  According to Reuters on July 3, 2013, DOMA was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Windsor v. U.S. The ruling stopped short of mandating that same sex marriage be legal at the federal level.  It is now up to each individual state to allow gay marriage or not. 

In our course textbook, Taking Sides, author Theodore B. Olson argues that by not allowing gay and lesbian people to form the same relationships, and solidify them with marriage, we are excluding a huge part of our own society.  By allowing everyone to be married – on the conditions they wish – our society would become more stable.  Marriage is one of the basic building blocks of our neighborhoods and society, according to Olson. 

Several cases against same sex marriage follow along the lines of keeping the family unit wholesome. If gays were allowed to be married, they would raise children who would not be able to fit into society, if gays were allowed to be married, then what’s stopping a three-way marriage, or marriage to animals? Author Sam Shulman argues that marriage exists is to solemnize the connection of opposites, which alone creates new life.  Marriage is sacred and defined only within the limits of the ability to create new life.

On a personal level, I believe same sex couples should have the right to marriage. Marriage is a basic human right, and not something people should be excluded from.  I also agree that by allowing all humans to marry whom they wish, it would create a more stable society since marriage generally means two people are deciding to settle down. 

Abortion

In the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, women were allowed more control over their bodies.  Abortion was legalized up until the third trimester.  Many conservative states tried to limit the amount of abortions happening by creating 24 hour waiting periods, requirements that abortions occur in hospitals, and informed consent laws. 

In the course textbook, Taking Sides, author Robert P. George furthers the pro-life debate by stating that most pro-life advocates do see abortion as a sin against God – but only because it is considered the unjust taking of an innocent life.  He also quotes a dissenting opinion in the Roe v. Wade decision – saying that a fetus development is continuous, it doesn’t become a human – it already is, just still developing.

But on a more liberal note, perhaps abortion could be viewed differently if we were to acknowledge how society reacts when a miscarriage occurs.  Author Mary Gordon explains that a 7-week-old baby (which could be aborted) is different than a 7-month-old baby because of what we call each death.  A death early in the pregnancy is a miscarriage, whereas a death late in the pregnancy is a stillbirth.  She goes on to state that while abortion is a regrettable matter, it should be legalized for various societal reasons – like poverty, and a better life for the child that is wanted versus not.

On a personal level, I take a definite feminist approach.  While abortion may be one of the hardest decisions a woman may ever have to face, the choice to abort or not is hers, not leading (mostly) male politicians. Especially in instances of extreme poverty, terminating unwanted pregnancies could potentially save a child and its mother a very hard life.  Without a doubt, where the mother’s health is at stake (defined as broadly as in Roe v. Wade) or in instances of rape and incest, the mother should be allowed to abort with reasonable ease.