Saturday, March 3, 2012

Personal Liberties...With Some Exceptions

Ron Paul visited Spokane again and according to the Spokesman Review had this to say:

“When it comes to personal liberties, lifestyles and what we put into our bodies, all of a sudden we have a bunch of busybodies telling us exactly what we’re supposed to do with our lives,” Paul said. “We should never accept the idea that the government can protect us against ourselves.”

A man of his word, Paul has submitted legislation that would keep the government from protecting us. HR 1096, The Sanctity of Life Act, would decree that life begins from the moment of conception. It would remove federal court jurisdiction over any state law that "protects the rights of human persons between conception and birth". HR 958, We The People Act, does this:

The Supreme Court of the United States and each Federal court--
  (1) shall not adjudicate--
    (A) any claim involving the laws, regulations, or policies of any State or unit of local government relating to the free exercise or establishment of religion;
    (B) any claim based upon the right of privacy, including any such claim related to any issue of sexual practices, orientation, or reproduction; or
    (C) any claim based upon equal protection of the laws to the extent such claim is based upon the right to marry without regard to sex or sexual orientation;


This would remove federal court jurisdiction of any state, county or city legislation having to do with "the free exercise or establishment of religion" however that may be defined, any claim to the right of privacy, and any claim of equal protection for the right to marry.

Taken at face value, it may seem like keeping the federal courts from ruling on specific types of laws is a good idea. But think these through a bit. State and local governments would be given free reign to "protect us from ourselves" or otherwise intrude upon our lives. Under this legislation, every miscarriage could result in a murder investigation. Any claim to a violation of privacy could be adjudicated many different ways depending on the laws passed by the state, country or city.

Fortunately, both of these bills are going nowhere. It would appear that Ron Paul's concerns about "personal liberties, lifestyles and what we put into our bodies" only apply to the ones he agrees with.

1 comment:

Tobias said...

With freedom comes responsability.

I really hate to touch the abortion issue because #1 I am male and will never have one and #2 I wIll not be doing anything to cause anyone else to have one and #3 I mostly don't care.

I am a rabid Dr. Paul fan so take this with a grain of salt.

Part of a good contract is good definitions. This is an area that is remarkably gray. A 23 week old fetus can be born and require every piece of medical technology in the NICU, but if you squish it you are a murderer. What seperates that piece of tissue from one a little smaller?

Most of Dr. Pauls issues focus on personal responsability. I believe that his arguement would be not only that no one has the right to tell you what you can or cannot put in your body but that you are responsible for any and all outcomes of your actions.