Stupid People Who Think They Are Smart.

I heard a great thing on Fox News this morning. Yes, I know it's a Saturday morning and there is nothing more dorky than watching Fox News on a Saturday morning. In my defense, conservative talk and television shows, including but not limited to Rush Limbaugh and The O'Reilly Factor, seems to be omnipresent in my parent's house. But I digress.

Back to what I heard this morning. I was making waffles and listening to the news with one ear, because I find it somewhat interesting. They were debating the placement of Sam Alito as a supreme court justice. Actually, the topic was, "How will Sam Alito effect the stock market?" This seemed a little ridiculous in and of itself, but then one of the guests said something that blew my mind.

"Anyone who is so pro-life clearly has no respect for basic property rights."

My response to that? WHAT THE HELL?!?!? You've got to be kidding me. Now, I'm generally a pretty tolerant person. I strongly believe that all people have the right to believe how they choose and have their own opinion. But this is crossing the line. Where does this guy get off correlating being anti-abortion to having no respect for property rights?

I understand how he could make such a statement sound logical. Theoretically, a woman's body is her property, and she should have the right to do what she wishes with it. This is simply a case of how something that is completely wrong can be twisted to sound okay. Okay, maybe a woman's body is her property. So let her get tattoos and piercings and sexually transmitted diseases. I don't care. But when it comes to another human life, I DO care. You wouldn't hear this sort of argument to support drunk driving. I mean, hey, the drunk person's body is his or her property, as is they vehicle. Why shouldn't they drive? Maybe being firmly against drunk driving makes me loose all respect for property rights.

Of course this position is ridiculous, and the shmuck who was on Money Matters on Fox News this morning would be sure to agree. "It's different," he would say. "Drunk driving is illegal because it protects other people; the people on the road who can't protect themselves." And I would say, "Aha! That is exactly my point." One of the first political ideals that I was ever taught in school was that sometimes we have to give up some of our rights in order to protect ourselves and others.

Being pro-life isn't about refusing to recognize a woman's "basic property rights," just like banning drunk driving isn't. It's about protecting people who can't protect themselves. In the case of drunk driving, it's protecting the mother who is running the pharmacy for more cough syrup and doesn't know a drunk driver is speeding her way. In the case of abortion, it's about protecting the life of a child who deserves the chance to live, regardless of the mistakes of it's parents. It's not about basic property rights, it's about life.

If you want to talk about respect for basic property rights, Mr. Money Matters Man, let's talk about imminent domain and see how you feel about that. But that's a different topic.