Should We Legislate Morality (morals, abortion, sex, morals)

[The Voice of Reason]

After spending the last couple of weeks reading (and participating in) several debates addressing the topic of abortion, I want to reduce it to this.

Why can't we legislate morality?

I'm sure we'll see several points of view. I'll withhold mine until others have had the opportunity to begin the conversation.

Thanks,
TVOR

[Jaymes]

You know, that's a hard question. I don't really have any answer, other than 'I can't push my morals on other people.'

[Rex]

We already legislate morality. Should we is another question...

[The Voice of Reason]

Rex -

You are correct. Please feel free to rename the thread "Should we legislate morality".

Thanks,
TVOR

[Pah]

Originally Posted by Rex_Admin

We already legislate morality. Should we is another
question...

I agree with the first statement if you define morality as "right conduct". And then I would answer yes to the second.

The question that remains is who stipulates "right conduct" in legislative actions? A voter block? - no, that's not the answer. Politicians? - also a wrong answer. The President? - no, that office only administers the law. Everyone can make suggestions but there is only one agency of the government that can do that.

The only correct answer in the US is the US Supreme Court. It is the only branch of government charged with determining if "right conduct" is indeed "right conduct". And it does this in accordance with constitutional law. Constitutional law recognizes that sometimes "right conduct" is opposed by other "right conduct" and then the Court must balance constitutional recognized rights (not necessarily legislated rights). The Court has found that there is a right to "privacy" for each individual This includes the right to marry, the right to participate in sex where the state has no legitimate interest, and the right to abort a fetus where the state has limited interest (and able to exercise its police power) in the fetus and only then in the third trimester.

The Court has recognized that a woman's right to privacy, her right to bodily integrity, her right to be free from coercion in considering her other rights, outweighs the supposed rights of a fetus.

-pah-

[The Voice of Reason]

Great reply Pah - very informative.

Thanks,
TVOR

[Mr Spinkles]

I agree with almost everything pah said. The state can and should legislate morality. If we couldn't legislate morality, murder, theft, arson, etc. would all have to be legal.

[robtex]

To a degree we already legislate morality. It would be impossible not to espically in the area's physical damage to another (including death), and theft. What makes a law viable is the legistlavtive ablity to quantify it and judicial enforcement of it. What I mean by legislative quantification is that a penalty needs be able to be assigned to it in such a way that a set standard can be imposed in reaction to the set fractions action. In regards to judicial enforcement is has to one that can be proven to a non-witnessing party and qualified as a deed that requires a sanction.

Communial living requires a communial morality that might differ from indidivduals morality but in a utilitarian sense is accomodating to a majority thus making is legistative in nature.

A non-prior conscenses on many moral issues creates a heavier bias to those invovled as the victim, aggressor (of said infraction) and judical adminstrators plus extra party involved as a set time limit is in place and a utilitarian application is not possible with limited partipants involved.

It also throws the agressor to the mercy of the other parties involved who many who will have a heavier emotional interest in an increased penatly of the aggressor. The aggressor having the further negative recourse of not having a prior say in the moral implication of the said behavior because was not presented to a judicial or legislative body beforehand.

The legistlation of morals on a community affords the benefit of collective reasoning less biased input as it is not dictated by circumstances presented before it.

The bigger and tougher questions may be what is quantifiable and with varying moralities combined in a set society what parameters can be used to index what is judgable, what is not, what is punishable and what is not.

[Irenicas]

Morality varies from person to person. How can we tell who is right? We should not push our morals on others who do not share them.