Salmo,
I really don't have an argument against the fact that I am imposing my beliefs on you. That's the problem I struggle with in my position. I try to be a pragmatic in most things. I try to look beyond the emotional issue and look at what is driving an issue, how history relates to a decision, and what the results are or could be. I mention a slippery slope because I believe it is one. When I look at world and history, I see a world where Moslems blow themselves up, where the Germans intiated the "final solution", people abort babies based on convenience, sex or handicap, and places like Rawanda and Darfur are ignored. How did these people come to where human life became so worthless and disposible? Then I look at the United States where the people roll over and let the government pass laws like the Patriot Act, and I start to wonder. Where will we be in 25 years. In less than a day Americans were standing in line to give away their personal freedoms. I suppose I am partly driven to my position by two things; one being that I am a parent of a handicapped child, and two being a child of a parent who was involved in the Hilter Youth and whose grandfather was in the German SS. I don't trust government or society.
I am willing to admit that if I sat through the painful death of a loved one I might change my opinion. In the end, while for most people this is an argument about personal freedom, I look at it as a deeper
issue dealing with the value of life.
So, trust me, I realize the value of your arguments. This is just a place I am unwilling to go at this time. My guess is that it will pass and it will cause little uproar. People will forget about it, and for the most part it will slip (hopefully) into oblivion for most of us. Yet the concious step society is taking one that could have future ramifications. I will leave it at that and allow you to attack as you like.