Guest Opinion: When the Government Decides Who Lives and Who Dies

By Peg Luksik
1/22/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In the legalization of abortion the government declared that it had the ability to decide who had a right to his own life.

Isn't it interesting that even though every political expert repeatedly informs us that this election is all about the economy, the candidates and their super PAC's run commercials that attack the pro-life credentials of their opponents? If abortion doesn't matter, why does it keep coming up? Because the societal effects of abortion reach far beyond the single issue.

Peg Luksik

Facebook Delicous MySpace

Twitter Stumble Digg

More Destinations

HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) - If the government can say that any of us need its approval to exist, it has actually said that about all of us. And if our very right to our own existences has been stripped away, then we truly are just the property of an almighty State.

If abortion doesn't matter, why does it keep coming up? Because the societal effects of abortion reach far beyond the single issue.

In the candidate discussions, we have been hearing a great deal about how Roe v Wade was an improper decision because the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds. It did, but that is not why abortion is wrong.

It would still be wrong if it had been passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The manner of legalization is irrelevant. It is the thing that was legalized that matters here.

In the legalization of abortion the government declared that it had the ability to decide who had a right to his own life. That legalization moved life from the category of unalienable right to privilege. It made the existence of every person subject to the whim of the state.

If our very right to exist needs government approval, we should not be surprised when that same government is now deciding that it can impose limits and conditions on liberty or property ownership or personal opportunity.

We should not be surprised when the same folks who defend this power of the state do not feel that they are bound by any of the rules that apply to the rest of us. And we should not be surprised when the areas where government must grant approval for our existence begin to expand.

In the final analysis, abortion is not an issue - it is a line. A line that says there are areas beyond the control of the state. The right of each of us to exist is outside of that line.

In the ads currently running about abortion, some of the candidates are accusing others of allowing funding for "some abortions".

And while the ads making those accusations are, to say the least, misleading in their presentations, the underlying fact reveals that many of the initiatives undertaken in the name of defending the lives of unborn children have allowed for exceptions to the protections being sought.

At one level, the use of the word "exceptions" is a travesty. In a delivery room, no "exceptions" have ever appeared. There are only ever little boys or little girls. And no matter what difficulties surrounded the conceptions or gestations of those children - they are STILL children.

At a deeper level, the ads themselves point out the fact that the laws passed in those efforts were just as much on the wrong side of the line limiting the power of the government as Roe v Wade itself.

It does not matter if the government declares that one person, one thousand persons, or one million persons can only exist with government approval - it's the "exist with government approval" that is the problem.

If the government can say that any of us need its approval to exist, it has actually said that about all of us. And if our very right to our own existences has been stripped away, then we truly are just the property of an almighty State.

Fighting to protect the unalienable right of unborn boys and girls to exist is actually fighting to preserve the fundamental principle of our American heritage - that we are endowed by a Creator with rights that are beyond the reach of any government.

-----

Peg Luksik is the Chairman of the Center for American Heritage. Learn more about the heritage of this exceptional nation at www.centerforamericanheritage.com

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: abortion, feticide, pro-life, anti-life, political, exceptions, campaign 2012, inalienable rights, Roe v Wade, Right to life, truths, Peg Luksik

NEWSLETTERS »

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 10 of 45 Comments

Bulbajer
1 year ago
Vance, I didn't know about the flu thing. Going to the ER for a flu? Now that's just silly. I guess some people really are abusing the healthcare system.
Vance
1 year ago
Rob, government isn't fully subsidizing healthcare because the hospitals are going broke because the foreign nationals are flooding the system. Medicaid picks up 30 cents on the dollar if that. The reason why insurance premiums are so high is that the Insurance Companies are subsidizing the welfare recipients who are flooding the ER's because they have a flu. By law the Hospital can't tell them to get lost. Doctors are not accepting new Medicare patients because the government is NOT paying. As one doctor told me, "We don't work for nothing". Nor should he. People who invest 8 years of hard study and 6 digit college costs deserve to be paid well for their services. I talked to a teenage anchor baby who complained that she had a flu but the ER scheduled her to come back a week later. I said good for them.
Rob
1 year ago
vance, in regards to insurance company abuses, there have been senate hearings on this topic. Look them up because they are pretty horrifying. But that being said, maybe your stories from the UK are true and thank God that doesn't happen here. But do you know why? It does not happen here because the government subsidizes the care. The government is picking up the slack where the private insurance companies won't. If insurance companies had to pick up the tab for all the costs incurred, particularly of the elderly, our rate structure today would be very different. If we allowed hospitals to turn away people merely because they couldn't pay, we'd have our own UK horror stories. As you decry the ACA, you fail to understand the level that the government is already and entrenched and subsidizing not only health insurance companies, hospitals etc, but you and I. Working in healthcare I'll be the first to say that ACA, after it went through the meat grinder of partisan politics is a disaster. But to that end, the status quo is not sustainable either. Maybe the ACA needs to be repealed. Or maybe it opens the door to begin a process of ensuring we have a healthcare system that will sustain this country long term. As we worry about our tax rates being some of the highest in the world, we had better start looking at hour healthcare costs as a nation as well because they aren't only the highest, but way out on the cost curve. And sadly, the indicators of health are not following suit. As some wise politicians have said, we don't have a debt problem, we have a healthcare problem. The GOPs ideas in this regard are a scam. They have none. But for the voting block already on government healthcare or that will be held harmless by their platform, I get why they have so much support. Who cares about the uninsured right so long as I have it and have no problems? Hate the welfare state so long as mine isn't cutoff. Geez.
Vance
1 year ago
Rob, not only have I not have any problems with private insurance but nobody else with whom I worked or nobody who knows anybody who has. Your Dear Leader and his merry band of marxists have a nasty reputation for lying. The UK News outlets are full of Socialized medicine horror stories. These stories are consistent; a person who was waiting for treatment was found dead in the hospital hallway. UK medical clinics are filthy with urine and feces on the floors. Canadian Prime Minister flies to Florida for heart surgery. The stories go on and on. I have visited a lot of hospitals and I have yet to see anything like this. Lying is the stock and trade of Marxists. They have contempt for humanity. In their eyes, humanity has value only when it serves the ruling class. All else is worthy of death. They are the architects and engineers of the Death Culture. These are the guys you serve.
Vance
1 year ago
Bulbajer, I apologize, Obama isn't a fascist, he's a Marxist who is working diligently to bring this country down. He just appointed more communist activists as Czars without congressional approval. The list keeps getting longer every day of 'Green Energy' scams who received millions in taxpayer money. The 'Green Energy" guys are his campaign bundlers. Soon, we will find out that these collective billions in handouts and Corzine's "Lost Billions" of dollars were laundered to his and the Marxist Democrat Party War Chest. Yes, they are Marxists who 'Nationalized" General Motors, Citibank, our entire healthcare system, and destroying every bit of free market he can get his hands on. Costs of energy has doubled since Obama came into office. These costs drive businesses out. Obama's big target is the internet. Big Sis is monitoring our blogs as we speak. A Marxist anyone? You don't remember??? Yes, Bis Sis called the Tea Party and other critics of your Dear Leader "Terrorists". She therefore ordered her department to monitor "Terrorist Activities". Isn't that what Communist Governments do?
carolyn
1 year ago
Obama is so power hungery its not funny. He has complete control and is funding planned parenthood with our tax money. He is not paying for Obama Care out of his own pocket. We are. Should I have to pay into it if I don't want it. This is what maybe liberal Catholics want but not real Catholics. Church leaders have spoke to president he didn't listen. He is not even paying attention. He is only paying attention to the people around him that call themselves Catholics. They do not represent the voice of all Catholics. We will funding abortion and contraceptives with Obama Care against there will. i don't have a choice not to pay into it. Maybe I will have a choice not to use it, But I will not have a choice to pay for it. My doctor will not have a choice either. He will have to comply with in a year. We have God given rights that are not protected and respected by Obama. The rights he protects are not God given. He protects the rights of people who have no regard for God. This is chaos.
Rob
1 year ago
vance, surely you are not suggesting that because of your fortunate case that insurance companies do not routinely deny care they deem unecessary? Some of this is in the normal course of business and the right thing to do, but some of it is merely a means to generate profits. And there have been a multiple senate hearings where former insurance company officials have admitted to these practices. Again, you may be very fortunate and probably pretty healthy, but that is not the case with everyone. Nevermind the fact that we are the only industrialized nation in the world where someone goes bankrupt for getting sick. How is that a testament to life? All that being said, pretty stupid for Obama to go after the church the way it has. But I do believe that maybe Obama and his cohorts are merely looking at Catholic's in general and saying that this is what they want. We seem to contracept just about as much as the general population. I get that Dolan is mad. But what do they expect when the church has been so quiet on these issues? You can't ignore the responsibility to form adults as our church has and expect a different result. This is one area where our leadership and a lot of clergy are so completely out of touch. They just don't get this.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
Vance: good for you. Stick with your insurance then. This government is not fascist. It is supportive of a great evil in society - abortion. But it is not fascist. If it were then any citizen who criticized the government would immediately "disappear." You can argue that we might someday become a fascist nation, but I don't see much evidence that the Obama administration is heading in that direction. Yes it supports abortion and yes it supports slightly larger government. There's much more to fascism than that. Carolyn: "If government is involved they will decide if your life is worth living, if you you get sick they will decide if you are going to be a productive member of societyand dicide to end your life especially for the elderly in long term hospitalization." Government has been in charge of our school system, our water system, our park system, and our road system, as well as regulating our electricity system, food system, and drug industry. Governmen involvement isn't anything new. "well big business controls the government because that is where the money is." Exactly! This is a problem which everyone, left or right or neither, must continually fight against. You make a good point, though - if government is controlled by big business, then what's the difference between regulation and no regulation? The thing is government is not completely under the control of big business. If it were, why would we care about politics? And also, the insurance companies fought Obamacare tooth and nail. If they controlled the government, why would this happen? "we don't need Obama care lite not even a little." You don't need it, Vance doesn't need it, I don't need it. Others might though.
carolyn
1 year ago
Bulbajer look what at obama care is doing to the health care and the dignity of women. He also removed limitations on stem cell research. There have been efforts by the church and Obama refuses to listen. He is totally against any input from church leaders even if it meant finding a better solution for the common good. i say no compromise on the health care for women, how about alternatives especially in the practices of catholic doctors . Government is pushing birth control on doctors against their will. They have 1 year to comply. It violates the churches social teaching on the dignity of the human persons conscience. It violates the natural process a womans body goes through. how about the government covering an alternative to birth control such as NFP, which is not birth control. Obama care won't do that because planned parent hood is in the business to provide abortions, or artificial birth control. If they did that planned parent hood would lose money and clients. If government is involved they will decide if your life is worth living, if you you get sick they will decide if you are going to be a productive member of societyand dicide to end your life especially for the elderly in long term hospitalization. It will cost too much Maybe a person will be considered more useful dead because at least they could harvest organs, or for scientific study. I don't trust this. Nancy Pelosi said we had to get this signed to see what was in it. It sounded like she knew something and there wasn't much time to get it done. well big business controls the government because that is where the money is. The government is bought by the businesses with the most money and they probably don't play fair and are not honest. We have a government that serves big business and not the person. I don't trust him, If he is elected our lives will be affect for the worst for the next 4 years.We have health care for poor and elderly. and we don't need Obama care lite not even a little. The value of human life is threatened by his ideas. The government would not be in the business to loose money. for them, they will dispose of a life or refuse to pay.
vance
1 year ago
Bulbajer, 'Nothing Fascist would come from government' Are you kidding me??? What in the world do you think Cardinal Dolan of New York has been talking about?? This government is as Fascist as it gets. It's ramming its anti-Christ policies down the Catholic Church and our throats whether we want it or not. I have been on medical private insurance for the last 35 years and they have NEVER deprived me of any treatment or health care. Never.

Prev12 3 4 5 Next

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment