I consider myself both pro-life and for the death penalty.
After this week's editorial board meeting I found myself contemplating how I justify being both. Many people may view holding these two beliefs as a contradiction, but after further thought I can confidently say that it's not. Here's my reasoning to support these two beliefs.
I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school starting in Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. I took religion classes every semester. Some were Catholic education classes, others were studies of world religions, religion in politics, etc. My high school put a great deal of emphasis on students understanding the reason for their faith.
For this reason I've never really questioned the rationality behind my beliefs. It wasn't until I came to Auburn that I met a single person who wasn't pro-life. Being confronted with an opposing argument can test the validity of your own. I think it shows the strength of a person's faith to hold their beliefs despite confrontation.
Abortion is taking the life of an innocent. It's completely, entirely selfish. The arguments that claim otherwise are few and weak. Some claim we don't know at which exact moment life begins. Does it matter? That embryo will be a living, breathing human being one day so long as you do n't rip it out of you.
There's a cartoon that's floated around the Internet. It's a person asking God why he can't send someone to cure cancer. He says he keeps trying, but we keep aborting them.
The death penalty is, in my opinion, nearly the exact opposite situation. A person has been given the gift of life already and is choosing not to value it. Whether they asked for it or not, they've been given life and are inherently and socially expected to respect it. So when a person takes the life of an innocent, they have no respect for life itself, including their own. The lunatics who murder 10, 20 or 50 innocent people are showing the world they do not care about life. So why should we keep them alive on our dime?
This same argument shows the gravity of abortion. Our nation legalized the murder of innocents.
I cannot see past this fact. I respect anyone who firmly sticks to their beliefs, but I cannot fully respect anyone who cannot accept the truth of these facts, particularly when it comes to abortion.
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