Obama Speaks To Notre Dame Grads

11 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

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  toadman on May 18 at 9:44 a.m.

  Yes.. both sides of the argument have valid concerns. Preventing unwanted pregnancies, and thereby decreasing the number of people even thinking about getting an abortion, seems like a logical course of action to me.

  The debate over “when life begins” is more dicey. Some have it at conception, others have it at “viability outside the womb.” Still others have it somewhere else…as for me, I don’t know when life (as defined by me) begins. I do believe that the “potential for life” begins at conception…and that drives my personal belief that people should consider very strongly whether to get an abortion or not. It also drives my personal belief that people should not get abortions, unless there is some medical reason, after the first tri-mester.

  Still, as I said, prevention is the key for me. I believe in FREE contraceptives for all…and voluntary (FREE ALSO) sterilization as well, for those who do not desire to have offspring.

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  spokelooneh on May 18 at 9:52 a.m.

  If life begins at conception, then heaven is chock full of embryos, since most fertilized eggs don’t implant in the uterus, or spontaneously abort and end up flushed down the toilet.

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  Sisyphus on May 18 at 10:02 a.m.

  The whole point of Roe v. Wade is to make clear that, at certain points in the pregnancy, the decision on the course of it can be free from government intrusion. I found it to be exceedingly wise to allow these decisions to be left up to the person who it will most effect rather than politicians trying to get elected or people motivated by their own religious fervor. Its the power of government that’s being restricted and I ain’t too keen on expanding that power after the last administration. Casting the debate in terms of ‘pro-life’ makes for some absurd results as spoke points out.

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  toadman on May 18 at 10:15 a.m.

  Sis makes a good point… so, in this sense, overturning Roe v. Wade would, in fact, do something that many conservatives abhor, give Government more power.

  Contradictory, indeed.

  It often seems that, where zealots of ANY bent are concerned, the government is a big bad evil entity UNLESS it is passing laws with which they agree (i.e. making abortion of any type illegal, in this case).

  Problem is…this is a democracy. Democracy is messy, and doesn’t make everyone happy all the time. However, if over half the people are happy in the democracy, you can bet that’s more than are happy in a regime that doesn’t allow it’s citizens to vote. Which would you rather have?

  Still, and I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this…it’s nice to finally be in the ideological majority.

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  spokelooneh on May 18 at 10:52 a.m.

  The real question is when does the soul come into existence? At conception? At the “Quickening”, under historical Catholic teaching? At 3 months? 4.5 months? The 40th day for a male embryo, the 80th day for a female fetus, according to Canonical law? At viability?

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  toadman on May 18 at 11:00 a.m.

  Well… since I only believe in the “concept” and “idea” of a soul/spirit, and don’t really believe in any sort of actual “soul” or “spirit”, that point is moot for me… though I understand it has more meaning for others.

  ..I forgot to mention that there are some people I know, who think that legal abortion should be extended to post-birth up to 18 years as well… not sure how well that would go over though.

  ;-)

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  Nick_Adams on May 18 at 11:27 a.m.

  Yes. He was masterful in his ability to address the issue head-on, while refusing to re-fight the culture wars of old.

  EJ Dionne, Jr. nails it…

  http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=5312fe65-4044-4e9d-95a9-3cfa6e4b2bf8

• 

  nic on May 18 at 1:52 p.m.

  I Like what Obama had to say… I’m just not sure that a college commencement ceremony is an appropriate place for that speech.

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  Nick_Adams on May 18 at 3:16 p.m.

  @nic: Normally, it’d be odd for abortion to come up in a commencement speech, but given all the controversy, I’m glad he tackled it head on.

  On a side note, several years ago, there was a commencement address originally attributed to Kurt Vonnegut (it was actually a column from a writer in Chicago). It was used in a couple of movies and eventually turned into a song. It really is spot on for the “perfect” commencement address. Here’s the song version.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvxsXHunxI0

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  Stickman on May 18 at 7:42 p.m.

  I’m with toad, though I am truly pro-life. There will always be two sides to a difficult issue, but that’s why we come here, to debate it.

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  Cindy_H on May 18 at 7:51 p.m.

  How about a best commencment speech by a sitting president, ex- pres or presidential spouse?
  I’d vote for Barbara Bush’s Wellesley address: “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.”

  http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/1990/bush.html

  It meant a lot to me at the time because I was feeling a lot pressure to put my boys in daycare and “get a real job.”

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