'Authentic' Prolife Position
Click here for KY Wordsmith reporting on the Bill Johnson v. Rand Paul Debate
Click here for Lisa Grass reporting on the Paul's position on abortion
The heart of the Reagan Republican prolife platform is based on the notion of PERSONHOOD for the unborn. Even Judge Blackmun, author of Roe v. Wade, admitted in the text of the case, that if the unborn child is a person then they are protected by the 14th amendment.
Mr. Paul states life begins at conception which is an admission that the child in the womb is a person. The Sanctity of Life act (Introduced by Ron Paul in Congress) says the unborn are persons and it gives the state the authority to limit abortion but does not REQUIRE the states to protect life – this is not a prolife or constitutional position. This position pretends the 5th & specifically the 14th amendments do not exist. Mr. Paul's position is confused, illogical and disagrees with the clear words of the U.S. Constitution. The states DO NOT have the power to take away the unalienable right to life or due process, and in fact, have a positive duty to protect that life.
In America, Constitutionally, the right to life is unalienable and therefore should be protected at EVERY level of government, including the federal level. For a U.S. Senate candidate to defer decisions on life and death to the states, courts or anyone else is in violation of the sworn duty of the office.
11 Comment(s)
Dr. Rand Paul believes as his father does, and we do, that such a personal thing needs to be controlled by the states.
You talk about the Constitution but nowhere in the Constitution does it give the Federal Government the power to regulate abortion.
Rand Paul 2010
"ONLY A Doctor WILL HEAL Kentucky"
"The principle is firmly embedded in our constitutional law that the action inhibited by the Fourteenth Amendment is only such action as may fairly be said to be that of the States. That Amendment erects NO SHIELD against merely private conduct, however discriminatory or wrongful."
"The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from depriving any person of life, liberty or property wihtout due process of law, but this adds nothing to the rights of one citizen as against another. It simply furnishes an additional guarantee against any encroachment by the States upon the fundamental rights which belong to every citizen as a member of society."
http://supreme.justia.com/us/529/598/index.html
While it may be a pleasant idea to want to construe the U.S. Constitution in a way sufficient to ban abortion, such an action would be to destroy the federal foundation of that document, that all powers not granted are reserved. Ultimately, while wrong, abortions not done by State directed physicians are not subject to the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment, unlike the 13th, only applies to State action.
Mr. Johnson, please consult ANY attorney on this, and read the text of the Amendment. Please!!
Perhaps I have overlooked it but I constantly see criticism of Dr. Paul. At least Mr. Johnson's criticism of Dr. Paul is done in a gentlemanly, well worded fashion which is a far cry from the vitriol spouted by some of his supporters on various blogs.
Recently Trey Grayson made a dig at Dr. Paul on radio saying he had no record of accomplishment while he (Trey) had been in Frankfort for six years. Dr. Paul was correct to point out that he has run a successful Ophthalmology practice for 20 years and could that not be considered an accomplishment? Mr. Johnson, like Dr. Paul, is a successful businessman for quite a number of years without being in elected office. Could Trey's comments be construed to also apply to Mr. Johnson? Does Grayson believe that only in elected office can one have "accomplishments"? Yet no comments about this from the Johnson camp. Curious.
It is not necessary for Dr Paul's bill to require state's to vindicate that right. Since an act of Congress cannot absolve the federal authorities of their duty uphold a constitutional right the effect of the Paul bill will be to free states to vindicate the right to life of the unborn child, whilst freeing those in pro-death states to pursue legal means through the federal court system to close the abortion industry down. Look at the official summary. It prohibits the feds from preventing protection of the unborn. It does not prevent federal authorities imposing protections on pro-death states.
We must remember that we are at a point where abortion is imposed throughout the US. The Paul bill can only save life. It cannot add to its destruction.