Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Rousseau's Social Contract and Roe v Wade

As a note, I made a mental mistake and forgot to save a list of all prior recipients of this letter. The earliest date I can find is Nov 22/2008. ---content as follows--- I would like to moot a discussion of Rousseau's social contract, and allude to Roe v Wade. A contract may have exceptions but when they are numerous the contract becomes weak. I envision that the rule against murder is the most basic and binding social contract. I can envision four exceptions. The reflexive case of murder (suicide,) post natal abortion (euthanasia,) assisted suicide and capital punishment. Of these, I suppose capital punishment represents an action taken only after the contract has already been broken and this action can be taken only by the state not the individual. Arguments for post natal abortion are usually made on the basis of chronic pain. In order to prevent abuse, could we establish a unit of measure for pain and have a recommended standard for the cumulative experience of it (pain unit seconds,) an individual expects to endure before normal death? Without this, we are experimenting with a power that the state could arbitrarily use unethically. With regard to pre-natal abortion, can it be abused to run toward selective breeding in conjunction with genetic testing? I understand that the application of Constitutional Law is said to swing on a pendulum. Does the potential abuse of pre-natal abortion suggest a future date when it would be appropriate to modify or reverse Roe v Wade? Assisted suicide is a murky one with questions of state of mind and consent to be determined and since it is hard to define I suppose that it makes a bad class of behavior for an exception to the social contract. If I am misapplying or misrepresenting Rousseau, is it novel or wrong? There is an international move to make abortion a "Basic Human Right." It is specifically under discussion in the UN at this time. To my mind, "Law," and "Right," are different concepts. The Declaration of Independence enumerates three inalienable Rights: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. I am concerned that the Right to Liberty, now called Freedom, is being used as an elastic clause to call any number of new ideas "Rights." I don't know that I want to use my Right of Liberty to modify my Right of Life by inventing a new Right to abortion, prenatal or postnatal

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