So I guess my question then becomes, why do people blindly attack religion with bits such as "the religious people vs. the sane people" and the like? I can quote from my own personal experience that I have gone through many facets of religion. I was brought up Catholic, with all the repression and guilt that goes along with it. Growing up in the '80's, I was affronted by the blindness of certain televangelists who made blind claims of devil worship in music, even going so far as to put the members of Journey on their list. Like many others on this list, I rejected religion and thought myself to be an "atheist". I can best describe that part of my life as empty. Since I met my wife, who is a strong Christian, I have allowed God back into my life. Not blindly and automatically - I've still had my fights over my previous experiences; however, I can say that my life is much more "full" now than it has ever been, and I thank my wife constantly for righting my ship. Am I a religious zealot? Far from it, and don't treat me as such. I can say that I regard myself as principled person though, and my opinions are asserted through my principles, not "blind" beliefs.
I read many of the comments throughout this argument and I see that there are hypocrisies on both sides of the argument (religious vs. non-religious, I mean). Personal attacks against somebody's core beliefs are rather non-productive and tend to illegitimate your argument. But people will be people.
Ken, on one hand, I agree with your argument about the personal choice of abortion; but, on the other, my principles tell me abortion is not a good thing. And again I fall back to my thoughts that abortion is used by people to coer a mistake in judgement that happened along the way. There are many alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, that do not bring up such heated debates from others. Would the guy or girl involved in the "mistake" learn a life lesson by aborting the child? In my opinion and experience, no, they would not. What they would learn is an easy way out after their mistake, and apply those same easy outs to other parts of their lives. It is a very difficult thing to do, to step up to the plate and be accountable for their acts or decisions. I have struggled myself on many occasions, and can even say that I've avoided accountability. What has that gotten me? A long string of guilt and regret over the years. Looking back, had I stood up and held myself accountable for what I did, I would have dealt with it and it would be over, eventually. I hear many of the same stories from women who have had abortions in the past.
As far as criminal negligence and rape activity, I'm very torn. I think it should be a decision a woman (or, sadly, a girl [and her parents]} can make to abort something brought about by a hateful act; however, that leaves the door open to say any conception was brought about by rape or otherwise against consent. Perhaps tying the abortion to a police report could assist in the matters, with paternity tests to ensure Boyfriend X is not the father. But that then gets complicated and may add unnecessary stress to already over-stressed legal system.
So then the argument of mandatory contraception comes into play. I thougth it a good idea at first, but then I thought about it more often. On one hand, individuals are saying government and others have no place in a woman's decision to abort a pregnancy; but, now, these same people seem to argue that it is ok for a government to force people to sterilize themselves, albeit temporarily, until another person tells them they are ready to raise a child. I don't like that idea anymore. And the argument of separation of church and state applies myriad fold in this new argument: a government would be stomping a mudhole in many religions, particularly Catholicism, and their beliefs against birth control. So, mandatory contraception, on paper, is a great idea; unfortunately, it is very much an unconstitutional idea, at least in the US.
That leaves me to my final opinion, that life education principles should be taught in school. All things influencing life, including the consequences of sex, the consequences of mismanaging money, and the consequences of any decision should be taught to our children. And the parents should be held accountable for the learnings of their children. That's a tough thing for many to grab onto though, it seems, since most parents are entirely too selfish to raise children these days. Parents should be there for their children, not only as a support structure, but as a boundary privider as well.
Enough rantings though. Congratulations to you if you actually read all that mess.