Dignity is the quality of being worthy, honored, or esteemed. The word quality in that case is speaking of a social status. Worthy means to have worth or value. Honor is referring to the way something is treated. Esteemed is the way something is viewed. Dignity is then a quality you possess that gives you your social value and causes others to give you honor and view you favorably. The real meaning of dignity is resolved based on the society in which you are involved. Dignity is not an absolute, but is relevant to your environment. In one environment a person may have respect (respect is the honor given to someone that is dignified); while in another environment be consider unworthy of respect.
Equality is the quality of being equal. Quality again is a social status. Being is the quality of having existence. Equal is having the same quality as what you are being compared to. Equality is having the same social worth simply because you exist. Equality is simply the same right to exist because you do already exist. Does equality, like dignity, depend on the environment that you are in; is equality relevant? The only relevance is that you exist. The existence of something gives it an equal right to exist. For argument sake, lets stay within our own species – a human has the right to exist because the human does in fact exist. A human is a bipedal (a two-footed) primate mammal; the off-spring of two humans. By the 8th week after conception a fetus has feet and toes. By definition the fetus is a human, and has an equal right to life as any other human being.
The question is not one of equality, but one of dignity. If the fetus has no value within the environment where is dwells, so it can be denied equality. The fetus is esteemed as having no value and is in turn given no honor as a being. In any society where equality is even assumed abortion would be taboo. By definition abortion is a hate crime, whereby a bias (predetermined worth based on a prejudice) is used to violate the equal rights of a human being. Within the confines of this country (the USA) the fact that the unborn child is not yet considered a citizen does not negate the human’s right to exist because it does in fact already exist. In fact the lack of citizenship negates the courts of this country (USA) from making any decision concerning the human fetus until citizenship can be legally established.
Emotionally, I do not accept abortion as a right due to any citizen. Logically, I view abortion as a form of national suicide, and akin to genocide. Theologically, I view a human life as existing eternally – life begins before physical conception. Morally, I view life as beginning at conception. As a human being, I view life as belonging to all of humanity, and I am glad that I was given an equal right to live. But in a value system based on equality my claims and attitudes have no more value than the next human being. Neither do those claiming the right to choose if a fetus is a living human being or not. Using equality as the measuring stick, the fact that the fetus exists the same as another fetus that is carried to full term and delivered, gives the fetus an equal right to exist; or every fetus has the same value and in turn the same right to exist.
© 2008, Tim D. Coulter Sr.