Karen, are you really worried about buying cigarets, or is that just a (pardon the pun), smoke screen. Mothers can and do smoke now, much to the detrement of their children. Frankly I would not expect much of a difference to the way things are now. The way it is now a mother can go out and drink her face off while she is pregnant, and the child she carries is born with fetal alcohol syndrom. That child will probably be illiterate and end up in prison. You must be happy with that, are you? No, if a mother was found to be giving her newborn child a steady diet of booze, then that child would rightly be taken away from her. I would suggest that is a criminal offence, and will ultimately cost the taxpayers a fortune in later expense. If a mother is found to be addicted to any substance, and refuses to receive treatment, then she should be incarcerated just like any other criminal until the child can be safely put into the care of someone who will give a rats ass for it.
We are not, and never have been, "free" in this society to endanger the life or well being of another person. I don't see any reason to change that do you?
All this still does not address the basic issue of the humanity of the unborn. If they are human beings then they deserve as much protection as you or I do. But if we can deny their humanity, I suggest we can do the same for many others as well, and we will not escape, without diminishing our own.
Greg |
