Abortion-women’s rights or human rights?

The term abortion normally refers to the induced abortion of a foetus by medical or other methods,though it can refer to spontaneous abortion in some specific contexts.You can read about abortion and other related articles on this link.Different countries have different laws relating to abortion.Some allow abortion if it is requested,others allow abortions under specific circumstances,others do not allow abortion except in some situations and a very small number of countries do not allow abortion at all.You can find out more about abortion laws in different countries on this map.There is a huge debate about abortion between foetal rights (known as pro-life in this context) activists and women’s rights (known as pro-choice) activists.

Arguments of foetal rights activists

The pro-life activists argue that aborting an embryo or a foetus should be made illegal (except maybe under unavoidable circumstances) as the unborn child is a form of life and is therefore entitled to the right to life which is an important part of human rights.They also state issues such as ethics,foetal pain and paternal rights.

Arguments of pro-choice activists

The pro-choice activists argue that abortion should be available on request.They claim that abortion is a part of women’s rights as it is the right of a woman to have complete control of her reproductive system.They would normally want abortions to be allowed in most circumstances except maybe in cases like sex-selective abortions.

This debate may never end but it should not be seen as an issue between human rights and women’s rights as it sometimes is.Women are human beings too and they should be given their rights which have been denied to them for centuries.As a male,I think I have no right to deny a woman her reproductive rights and no man or woman or physician or religion should deny a woman her rights.I believe that as long as a foetus has not been delivered,it is a part of a woman’s body and therefore she should have complete rights over it.It should be her choice and her choice alone that should count and not that of anyone else,be it man or woman or physician or religion.

DEATH to the death penalty!

I have always hated the death penalty. Capital punishment belongs to the middle ages. The death penalty has no right to exist in any society that calls itself civilised. You can read about this abhorrent punishment in this wikipedia article.

There is a global campaign to get rid of the death penalty. I support it wholeheartedly. Many nations have abolished this kind of collective murder. Yes, I call it collective premeditated murder by society as a whole. If anyone is put to death by any country, then that crime (yes,it is a crime) should trouble the conscience of everyone who is a part of that country’s justice system. The hangman or the shooter alone should not take the blame. Infact, I really pity the poor souls who have to perform the job of a hangman. I can empathise with them, but I would personally prefer to steal to earn a living rather than knowingly kill a person (who may be completely innocent) because it is a part of my job. It is not a surprise that very, very few people want to perform the job of an executioner. And those people who have no other option would become psychologically affected after a few years in such a job.

Here are the reasons why I hate the death penalty :

• No justice system manned by humans is perfect. A person sentenced to death may be completely innocent or only partly guilty.
• Infact, it has been proved later that some persons who were put to death were innocent. What is the use?
• The justice system of any country has its flaws. So why not err on the side of caution?
• It is usually the poor and the marginalised who suffer. The rich and the powerful can get away. Is this not a real shame?
• The aim of any system should be to reform a person, not kill him/her. How on earth can a person be reformed if he/she is put to death?
• Think of the near and dear ones of a person condemned to the gallows. Think of the mental torture that they would be going through every second, being aware of the fact that their loved one is going to be killed and that they are helpless to prevent that.
• Think of the executioner. He is a human being as well.
• Even hardened criminals and terrorists are sometimes victims of circumstances. If given a chance and the right conditions, they would reform and contribute meaningfully to society. What do we achieve by putting such a person to death?

I believe that the maximum punishment to be given to a person should be life imprisonment until death and not capital punishment. This should be applicable for even the most heinous crimes. By making a criminal live the rest of his life in prison, we would make him realise the gravity of his offence. This cannot be achieved by killing him!

The positive thing about all this is that countries are abolishing the death penalty. Many countries have done away with the death penalty for good. Others use the death penalty only in the rarest of the rare cases. Even this is not enough. Countries that still execute people should learn from the European Union. The E.U. has made it a prerequiste for every nation (that wants to join the federation) to abolish the death penalty. It is about time that the United Nations takes a leaf out of the European Union’s book.

Any justice system must err on the side of caution when it comes to execution. Once killed, a person simply cannot be brought back to life. A criminal may escape with a lesser sentence but an innocent person should never be punished for something that was not committed by him. This alone should be enough to abolish this abhorrent practice.

DEATH to the the death penalty, I say!

Related posts:

LET SARABJIT LIVE!
Some hope for Sarabjit, at last!

Save the tiger !

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat on the planet.There are several sub-species of tigers and some of them are already extinct.You can read about tigers on this wikipedia article.

A recent tiger census reports that the number of tigers left in the wild in India is 1411.This figure may be higher than the actual number because the methods used to count them are outdated and inaccurate at best and grossly misleading otherwise.We shall have to wait for a more accurate number.This is possible only if the big cats are counted using modern technology.

But will they wait till we count them? I do not think so.The rate at which tigers are disappearing,no one would be surprised if they become extinct within a few years.Already some tiger reserves are reserves only in name.There are no tigers left in them.You can read about it on this link.

Not just tigers,other big cats like lions,cheetahs,leopards,panthers,etc. are on the verge of extinction throughout the world.The cheetah became extinct in India long ago and lions are restricted to a handful of isolated pockets,the largest among them being the Gir National Park in the state of Gujarat.Unless we put an immediate end to poaching,trade in body parts of big cats,destruction of habitat,etc. the big cats would disappear,never to return.That would be a sad fate for these majestic beasts that once roamed the planet fearlessly . . .

A Siberian tiger enjoying the sunshine . . .

Another adult . . .

. . . and an albino !

The above photographs have been taken from http://www.copyright-free-photos.org.uk