The Statue of Responsibility


If our government refuses to allow a woman to have an abortion and forces her to deliver a baby she doesn't want or can't support, for whatever reason, then the government is responsible for the welfare of that baby, once delivered.

Of course, this is anathematic to the agenda of some anti-abortion groups. Why? Because their objective is not the welfare of the baby and certainly not the mother. They make claims about upholding morality and the sanctity of human life, but if they show no concern about life after birth, then their platitudes ring hollow. Their real goal is to maintain the divide between the haves and the have nots, to solidify their power and wealth at the expense of the underclass beneath them for this and the next generation.

They will never admit it, but it's true.

Now onto another related pair of subjects, freedom and responsibility. People have the freedom to procreate and create babies, but once done they also have the responsibility for the welfare of that child.

The devil is in the details. The intersection of the roles of freedom, authority and responsibility are what we have to navigate, both collectively and individually, for this to work. Here is where morality must prevail and the courts may need to step in to adjudicate when other safety nets fail to protect the innocent. A shared understanding of responsibility must exist if we expect the concepts freedom and authority to work together effectively in our culture. Without the mediation of responsibility, we will devolve into either anarchy or totalitarianism.