Note: I sometimes mention that Catholic dogma is irrelevant. That should be taken with a pinch of salt - it is almost never irrelevant as Jesus' teaching were all ultimately good for us. Hell, if we were all good followers of Christ the world would be pretty damn close to being perfect. But it isn't, and we should not impose our beliefs on others.
The divorce issue has gone on for far too long in this country, and it is time that people stopped looking at it from a liberal/conservative perspective, or even a religious/secular one. It is also time that people stopped lumping together euthanasia, divorce and abortion. The fact that those three issues are always referred to together, as if legalising one of them means the others must also be legalised, prevents us from developing as a country.
I am in favour of divorce and against abortion (I am conflicted on euthanasia, and it is outside the scope of this post). Let us look at some solid facts: at the moment of conception a new human being starts forming. The embryo does not become a human after 3 months of growth, or even 14 days. It is always a human. Assuming that we are all against murder, then it is only logical to say that everyone should be against abortion. Women's rights groups have had their say, and what they say is wrong. The embryo is not part of a woman's body, that they can decide to remove. It is not a cancer which would be beneficial to a woman to remove. No, it is a human life, and nothing is more precious. From a religious point of view, abortion is of course wrong, but although we boast that we are a Catholic nation, the government has a duty to remain secular, therefore it being wrong based on faith is not relevant. However, according to all values and norms, killing is wrong, full stop, even, or especially, when the victim is helpless and vulnerable. Promoting real sexual education, including the use of birth control, in schools, would probably alleviate the problem of unwanted pregnancies.
I am in favour of divorce and against abortion (I am conflicted on euthanasia, and it is outside the scope of this post). Let us look at some solid facts: at the moment of conception a new human being starts forming. The embryo does not become a human after 3 months of growth, or even 14 days. It is always a human. Assuming that we are all against murder, then it is only logical to say that everyone should be against abortion. Women's rights groups have had their say, and what they say is wrong. The embryo is not part of a woman's body, that they can decide to remove. It is not a cancer which would be beneficial to a woman to remove. No, it is a human life, and nothing is more precious. From a religious point of view, abortion is of course wrong, but although we boast that we are a Catholic nation, the government has a duty to remain secular, therefore it being wrong based on faith is not relevant. However, according to all values and norms, killing is wrong, full stop, even, or especially, when the victim is helpless and vulnerable. Promoting real sexual education, including the use of birth control, in schools, would probably alleviate the problem of unwanted pregnancies.
In the case of rape and incest, and possibly even if there is a very serious danger to a woman's life, abortion could be allowed, but then again, why, before we even settle on the main issue, do we start arguing about exceptions? Because arguing over details leads to nowhere and bogs us all down. Argument is conducive to change, but bullshit like exceptions? We'll deal with it later, lets get through the main issue first.
Now let us look at divorce. Once again, the Catholic religion tells us it is wrong, however, once again, that is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether it should be legal. An atheist living in Malta cannot divorce, and that means a lack of freedom. Yet obtaining a divorce abroad is acceptable. What this boils down to is that those who can afford to spend a lot of money on their divorce get it, and have another shot at finding the perfect partner, if that is what they desire, while those who don't afford it get a separation where both parties can still get partners, but it denies them the more formal and "good" status of getting married again rather than living together. Children of these couples do not get a new family to be proud of, but will instead have to live with the "shame" of having your mother living with her boyfriend while unmarried.
Now let us look at divorce. Once again, the Catholic religion tells us it is wrong, however, once again, that is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether it should be legal. An atheist living in Malta cannot divorce, and that means a lack of freedom. Yet obtaining a divorce abroad is acceptable. What this boils down to is that those who can afford to spend a lot of money on their divorce get it, and have another shot at finding the perfect partner, if that is what they desire, while those who don't afford it get a separation where both parties can still get partners, but it denies them the more formal and "good" status of getting married again rather than living together. Children of these couples do not get a new family to be proud of, but will instead have to live with the "shame" of having your mother living with her boyfriend while unmarried.
This issue to me seems quite straight forward - whether we personally agree with divorce or not, it is still a human right, and we are neglecting that right by not legalising it. And abortion is bad, pure and simple. Shit, I wish our government had my clear sight.
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