Legislate peoples lives

[Shaolen]

So I made a post today about the recent laws in AZ and TX which make it harder for people to have abortions and a friend I have who is a former army guy and an atheist said this

“Why legislate other peoples lives?”

How should I respond to this

 

[1ke]

So I made a post today about the recent laws in AZ and TX which make it harder for people to have abortions and a friend I have who is a former army guy and an atheist said this

“Why legislate other peoples lives?”

How should I respond to this

Well, should we not have laws pertaining to murder, robbery, rape, speed limits, drinking age, voting, seat belts, smoking, gun ownership, deed restrictions on property, immigration, and pollution?

Those legislate other people’s lives.

That is the purpose of laws-- to regulate society for the common good and protection of rights. Abortion denies rights to some people based on age and location.

patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/03/11/yes-there-are-pro-life-atheists-out-there-heres-why-im-one-of-them/

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Laws protecting human life reflect society’s values, or lack thereof.

 

[chasingcars]

If you’re a woman you can tell him he’s a man so his opinion doesn’t count. But if you’re a man, you can say that the unborn deserve legal protection and that’s not “legislating people’s lives”, it’s protecting the weakest members of our society.

 

[edwest2]

So I made a post today about the recent laws in AZ and TX which make it harder for people to have abortions and a friend I have who is a former army guy and an atheist said this

“Why legislate other peoples lives?”

How should I respond to this

The other life to consider is the unborn baby. In the past, at least some women were told “it was just a blob of tissue,” not a baby. Recently, I saw a rephrasing of the message as “It looked nothing like a baby.” Scientists will tell you a unique human being is created at the moment of conception. So, a little education about the issue is a good idea.

Being pregnant does not mean you are going to have a blob of tissue. A fetal heartbeat can be detected at around 6 weeks.

Ed

 

[porthos11]

So I made a post today about the recent laws in AZ and TX which make it harder for people to have abortions and a friend I have who is a former army guy and an atheist said this

“Why legislate other peoples lives?”

How should I respond to this

Because if you don’t, other people’s lives could be at risk. Such an unborn human being’s.

Our lives are legislated all the time. I have no desire to pay taxes. I will never voluntarily pay taxes. But I have to and I will, simply because it’s the law, and I don’t break the law. Because of that legislation, I kiss goodbye to over 20 grand a year. That’s money I earned and I lose it simply because someone legislated my paycheck.

That’s just taxes. These other laws against murder, drunk driving and all that are there to regulate behaviour for the protection of other lives.

 

[PseuTonym]

So I made a post today about the recent laws in AZ and TX which make it harder for people to have abortions and a friend I have who is a former army guy and an atheist said this

“Why legislate other peoples lives?”

How should I respond to this

I think that you need to ask questions. For example, you could ask whether or not somebody should be required to be a medical doctor in order to perform abortions. After all, typical pro-choice rhetoric emphasizes that abortion should be safe, but that could easily be criticized on the grounds that only a nanny state would attempt to interfere in the private transactions between a pregnant woman and somebody who is ready and willing to attempt to do the work of performing an abortion. Ability is open to debate.

We could ask whether laws against incest are comparable to laws that allow local governments in China to force women to have abortions. Both could be characterized as legislating other peoples lives. However, in the USA, people who are pro-life agree with people who are pro-choice in opposing a government forcing a woman to have an abortion. They are also usually in agreement in supporting laws against incest.

A completely different question would be whether or not it should be legal for restaurants in Arizona and Texas to serve dog meat to customers who request it. Forbidding the serving of dog meat could be seen as government interfering with the lives of restaurant owners and the lives of people who eat in restaurants.

I think that my overall point is that a slogan is not adequate to design a system of laws. Of course, it would not be helpful to directly assert that in your discussion. Instead, you need to probe to find out what your friend is willing to rely upon that goes beyond a slogan.

 

[DaisymaeD]

I’m not trying to be flippant, but all laws, by definition, legislate people’s lives.

 

[Captain_America]

. . .OP: point out to your friend that without laws (and especially enforcement of laws), then whoever has political power (guns, fists) wins, regardless of justice.

There is a strong political pull toward libertarianism is these uncertain times. To some, this is a promising treasure, but others recognize it as essentially asocial and antisocial, and denies our individual needs for human society and social (name removed by moderator)uts.

Of course, we base legislation on our shared values. We always have, and these values are surely moral values.

 

[MarcoPolo]

I’m not trying to be flippant, but all laws, by definition, legislate people’s lives.

Ditto… The accusation is nonsensical. If they want to argue a law is unjust, that’s one thing, but arguing against a law because it affects lives is nonsensical.