CITIZENS IN CIVILIZED SOCIETIES

Citizens In Civilized Societies

Citizens in Civilized Societies

Introdcution

The process of becoming civilized is a long and painful one. 10,000 years ago, we lived short, brutish lives in caves. Although we soon advanced to huts and houses—and palaces for the privileged few—our lives largely remained short and brutish. Today, thanks to modern medicine, technology, education, and various social and political advances, large portions of the world's population live in good health, and in relative peace, prosperity, safety, and freedom.

Only 73 years ago, the world officially condemned slavery. The enlightened recognition that enslaving people was evil made it possible to actually try and stop it. Many groups of people still suffer heavily from persecution and discrimination, but there are two general categories of people whose rights the world has been very slow to recognize. Women and children. For example, in 1928 in Canada, three years after slavery was condemned by the world community, the Canadian Supreme Court unanimously declared that women were not persons. That decision was overturned by the highest court in England, which said that to deny rights to women was "a relic of days more barbarous than ours." As for children, they are still treated like chattel in many countries, with little recourse to legal rights of their own. Women have fared much better, but in a few countries, the legal status of women is still hardly better than that of slaves.

Mandatory motherhood is a unique kind of slavery that specifically victimizes women and children. About one-third of the world's women live in countries where enforced motherhood rules the day. Not too long ago, perhaps women's biology was their destiny. But no more. With the advent of modern contraception and quality reproductive care, there's no excuse for forcing women to bear children against their will, or failing to provide basic maternal care, or compelling women to seek out illegal, unsafe abortions. There's no excuse for forcing children to be born unwanted, sentencing them to a probable life of dysfunction. The future of any society rests in its children, and a civilized society is one that invests in children and parents by providing a healthy, loving environment in which to raise kids.

Some Basic Information about Abortion Around the World

Abortion is probably the world's most common surgical procedure. About 46 million abortions are performed every year, 20 million of them illegal. Abortion is practiced widely by women all over the world, across all social classes, and regardless of laws against abortion. Since the beginning of recorded history, abortion has been commonly practiced by almost all societies, including ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and countless others. In fact, abortion could be called a fundamental aspect of human behaviour.

But because abortion is still illegal or restricted in many countries today, two out of every five abortions in the world are performed unsafely by an untrained provider or in an unclean setting. Every year, about 78,000 women die from unsafe and illegal abortions. For every death caused by unsafe abortion, several ...