Alias wrote: ↑March 9th, 2021, 3:34 pm
They don't seem very consistent in their notion of sacredness.
They don't.
The connection between consistency and religion (or politics, or some other things) is sometimes random, sometimes absent. But that doesn't mean that many people don't sincerely hold certain beliefs, consistent or not.
My original point simply being that, given the existence of beliefs that are mutually adverse (pro-life vs. pro-choice), compromise is impossible.
It's more a topic for law, not philosophy (OK, maybe political philosophy), but it's always been my view that, notwithstanding my personal pro-choice viewpoint,
Roe v. Wade has much to answer for in creating a significant part of the current, long-standing, and never-ending dysfunction in American politics. At the time
Roe was decided, abortion was legal in some states (admittedly very few), and on the way to becoming legal in others, without the current scale of controversy. A small number of states, to be sure, but change was in the air. The availability of abortion of course wouldn't have been perfect, but matters would have gotten better in a number of places. What
Roe did, by making abortion a Constitutional and therefore a
national issue, was give the religiouszoids something political to run with -- permanently. The consequence being that abortion is never not going to be an issue on the American political stage, with all the dysfunction that brings.
Why did the religious right supported Donald Trump in such strong numbers? it wasn't because he said he like grabbing women's private parts. It was because of judicial appointments. And now there's a majority on the Supreme Court that's hostile to abortion, with only the extent to which they'll do something about it, in light of
stare decisis, remaining to be seen.
No question, as the result of
Roe v. Wade the U.S. is now a better place from the standpoint of abortion rights. I suggest that it's less so in some other areas, because of the consequent political dysfunction.
Just my two cents. Others may disagree.