week 5 blog 2

I thought it was very interesting how Prof. Smith took the ideas from Augustine and asked us how they would apply to gay marage now. I thought it was tough to say how Augustine would react to the idea and what stance he would take on it. I think what was discussed in class was good and would be my guess as what would be closest to Augustine's stance. I would like to expand on this idea a little further. I want to look at a different issue that is currently debated all the time: abortion. I would first like to make clear that what I will be saying in no way represents my personal feelings or opinions on the topic and what I believe will not be reflected in this blog. So, what stance would Augustine take on abortion?

I think that it could be possible for Augustine to take a "pro-choice" stance. Augustine focuses on the ideas of love and justice mainly, and I could see how an argument for abortion could be made through those ideas. If the situation came about that a woman got pregnant from a rape or was pregnant in a situation where she could not take care of the baby, the love argument could be made. It would be possible for Augustine to look at it as, the parents will not be in a situation to take care of the child, the child will be born into a poor situation and will suffer unnecessarily in life. He could say that the mother would be acting out of love for the unborn child, especially if she believed that the child will go to heaven. The mother would be acting out of love and her motivation would be to get in a better situation than what life would be.

Though I could see Augustine arguing for "pro-choice" I could also see him arguing the other side. As we discussed in class, it would be hard to make an argument in which Augustine would be able to justify the taking of another life, even if the child was not yet born. He would possibly argue that the mother would not be acting out of love. He could argue that the mother should love the life of the child, and do what she can to make the child's life the best she possibly can. He could also make the argument that there are other options besides abortion, such as adoption (though that has its own problems that I will not discuss). He might say that an abortion would not be justified because the child has no ability to make a choice for itself and that it would not be justly protected.

Out of the two views I think that Augustine would have a hard time getting past the problem of taking another life. I do not think he would be able to justify that, even with the arguments he could have made from the first paragraph. Even though I think Augustine would make the second argument, I can see the justifications from the first paragraph. I think that is why this issue remains so controversial in the world today.