Constitutional Amendment (The Right To Life Amendment)

[Emsworth]

I strongly urge the Senate to reject this amendment.

Firstly, this amendment is contrary to the principles of federalism. There is a reason for which we have both federal and regional governments, rather than a unitary national government. Regions are not mere subsidiaries of the federal government: the Constitution should not dictate regional policy. There is simply no need to federalize these issues.

Secondly, this amendment violates the principles underlying our Constitution. The Constitution is supposed to provide for the framework and limitations of government. It is not meant to be a legal code regulating private behavior. It is unprecedented for a constitutional amendment to establish specific punishments: normally, penalties are established by statute.

Thirdly, the amendment (Clause D in particular) is too rigid. "Any person" who performs an abortion or assists someone in committing suicide will be sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment--no less, no more. But will a young teenage girl who has just been raped, and who obtains an abortion, be sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment? Will a mentally retarded person who assists someone in committing suicide be sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment? Clause D is so harsh and inflexible that it warrants the rejection of the whole amendment.

Fourthly, and most importantly, this amendment is a violation of personal liberty. Why should someone not be allowed to terminate his own life? Someone in extreme pain might not want to live any longer: who are we to instruct him that he may not be euthanized?

I respectfully suggest that this amendment should be rejected in its entirety.

[Emsworth]

The Constitution is there to protect the basic rights of the people and dictate how the federal government will function, is it not?  If this document is intended to protect basic rights, then certainly one of these basic rights is the right to life.

I agree only in part. A very important purpose of the Constitution is to protect rights from the federal government. The regional constitutions protect rights from regional governments.

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I can understand your argument with respect to abortion and the death penalty, but not euthanasia.