Biden v. Palin on Abortion and Roe v. Wade

I think abortion will be a big topic in the debate between the two vice presidential candidates. Although the Couric interviews reveal a frighteningly inept, uninformed and even embarrassing Sarah Palin, no one should underestimate her ability to give a good fight, nor Joe Biden's gaffability. The video below comes via the Volokh Conspiracy where there is the usual highly informative exchange of commentary and riposte.


I also a have post at Filipino Voices on this topic. A good summary of the legal and constitutional aspects in the Philippine jurisdiction can be found here. Fundamental is the provision in the 1987 Constitution which proclaims that human life begins at conception and declares "equal protection for the life of the mother" and the "life of the unborn."

Abortion is illegal and criminal in the Philippines and punished abortion with the consent of the mother by imprisonment (6 months to 6 years max), and abortion without her consent with up to 12 years in prison. My sense is that most Filipinos are four-square against abortion when they are asked to express an opinion about it, however, sources such as the World Health Organization estimates that half a million abortions occur in the Philippines annually, but I've never heard of any prosecution or imprisonments as a result.

Clearly this is a moral issue and in principle I am against abortion because I cannot imagine that if I were a woman that I could in good conscience do it. But I am NOT a woman and I doubt I can imagine what it would be like at all. (Women are an inscrutable mystery to me anyway!) I lean towards the decriminalization of "voluntary" abortion in the first trimester on the basis of a fundamental right to privacy and women's right to determine their own reproductive destiny, if you will. I also want to limit State intrusion into such a fundamentally personal issue.

I must admit, my position on this is fluid as I've never had to face the attendant dilemma.