Abortion is wrong, Death Penalty is right?

Question

Is i wronfull for someone to be a pro-lifer and then support the death penalty. Isn't that contradictory? I've met a few people who feel abortion should be illegal and then I ask them if they feel the death penalty is right and there answer is yes. I ask them why and tey say because if you're a criminal you don't deserve to live. This doesn't make scence to me.What are your views about this subject?

Answer 1

You are right--it does not make sense.  The apparent inconsistency is because "pro-life" is a misleading and inaccurate description of their position on abortion.  

Pro-life implies that those who support a woman's right to choose are anti-life, which is ridiculous.  So-called "pro-lifers" are more accurately described as "anti-choice."

Answer 2

Abortion is killing an innocent life. Death Penalty is killing a cold blooded killer. The opposite is actually contradictory. How can you (left wingers) advocate abortion yet be against the death penalty? It is okay to kill innocent babies but wrongful to kill cold blooded murderers? Is your head on straight?

Answer 3

death penalty = post natal abortion .

Answer 4

You cannot be "pro-life" and support the death penalty.  Or war.  Or anything that makes someone unnaturally dead.

People that justify war or the death penalty are NOT pro-life.  They may have a rational reason for what they believe, but they are liars if they claim "pro-life."

As such, I've yet to meet many people who are really "pro-life."  Those that are tend to be considered extremely liberal.

Update: I see I've got some hands down.  Why?  I'm not making an argument for or against abortion, war, or death penalty.  I'm simply saying that the phrase "pro-life" means that you are against anything that brings about an unnatural end to life.  In other words, if you're in support of the death penalty, that's fine... but you can't call yourself "pro-life because you're not.

Answer 5

I am pro-choice and even I see the flaw in this attempt at logic.  They are two unrelated issues.  A murderer has proven that he is a handicap to functional society.  A fetus has no track record either way.  

Answer 6

There is no contradiction between anti abortion and Pro Death Penalty.

Answer 7

Not really, with the death penalty you have a trail a judge jury and endless appeals. With abortions you have none of that. That mean we the people have looked over the crimes this person has committed and have decided that they are a danger to society such a danger that the only way we can protect ourselves is to end your life or that the only way that person could pay for their crime is for them to lose their life.

Personally I feel abortion should be legal up to the third month this is done with a measurement of the leg bone, once it reaches certain size  it's too late.

Yes I know I'll get a lot of thumbs down for that, but like many things in life there is no good answer.

Answer 8

I support abortion rights and capital punishment...

stereotypes are not helpful.

Answer 9

yep because those proven in the death penalty have to do something really evil to get the death penalty while the aborted baby is an innocent baby

Answer 10

Everyone knows why the death penalty is right.

As far as abortion goes, I am a full supporter.  Sure a baby's heart may beat but that is the only thing that represents any sort of life, they cannot cognitively think and have no sense of what is going on.  I know someone who got an abortion, and if they didn't get one they would be sitting in the welfare line, and never make anything out of themselves and get to a point where they can actually support a child and give them the life they deserve.  Nobody likes getting an abortion but sometimes you gotta get it done.  

If they make abortion illegal then they should make birth control free, nobody likes condoms and many people end up taking them off, creating more babies.

Don't use stereotypes it is very ignorant.

Answer 11

There is no inherent contradiction in being pro-life and pro-capital punishment, OR vice-versa. The abortion issue generally comes down to where you believe that life begins. Pro-lifers think life begins at conception (and therefore abortion is murder), whereas pro-choicers believe life begins at birth. Both sides will dazzle you with scientific studies and supposed evidence to support their case, but there simply is no way to prove either side - it boils down to what you believe.

The death penalty is a completely unrelated issue.

I supported capital punishment for a long time, but the more I learned about it, the more I came to oppose it.  In the end, several factors changed my mind:

1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years in the U.S., over 100 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.”  Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person.

And for those who say that the death penalty kills only those who “deserve it” – please read the above paragraph again.

Really, that should be reason enough for most people to oppose it. If you need more, read on:

2. Because of higher pre-trial expenses, longer trials, jury sequestration, extra expenses associated with prosecuting a DP case, and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.

3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty jurisdictions. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government fosters a culture of violence by saying, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.”  Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (the architect of the 9/11 attacks) would love nothing better than to be put to death.  In his words, "I have been looking to be a martyr [for a] long time."

5. Most governments are supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Answer 12

Abortion is killing the innocent.  Death Penalty is killing the guilty.  WIth that said, only those who have been proven to be guilty by way of DNA evidence should be put to death.  All others should be able to have their cases reviewed until they are either cleared, or until something comes up by way of DNA evidence to prove them guilty, since we have so many innocent sitting on death row.Why is it ok for someone to stay alive who killed your child, sibling, parent, cousin, etc?  A baby hasn't done any such thing.

Edit: You'll find an overwhelming amount of liberals think it's okay to keep Ted Bundy alive, but killing the unborn is ok.

Edit: For those who say war is wrong, you've either never been in the military, or have never lived anywhere where people needed to be liberated.  Why is war wrong, but ok for us to stick our heads in the sand and let the Saddam Hussains, Adolf Hitlers, etc.  of the world torture and murder innocent people?

Answer 13

They are two different issues. Personally, I believe abortion should be legal in the first trimester but only legal in the third to save the mother's life. Most people seem to have an all-or-nothing view.

Answer 14

It does make sense, but considering your lack of attention to spelling and grammar, I can see how it would confuse you.  They are saying it is not right to kill  a child who has done nothing wrong, but it is right to kill an adult who has committed a horrible crime.

I don't agree with this statement, but it makes perfect sense.

On the other hand, if you say that abortion is wrong because killing is wrong, then you should also say that the death penalty is wrong.

It all depends on their reason for being against abortion.  Not everyone's reason is the same.

Answer 15

I can see how someone would consider life so sacred that they would oppose abortion and capital punishment.  I can also see how someone would say that an innocent life should be protected, and at the same time believe that some crimes are so heinous that a person convicted of it in fair trail could be put to death.  But it takes some real cognitive dissonance to say an innocent baby is fair game and the most violent criminals should be protected.