Last week Thursday, Rep. Scott Allen (R – Waukesha) hosted a community engagement night at the Waukesha Public Library on the topic of abortion where an audience of 40 gathered.
“Abortion is an important topic that deserves much consideration…Passion on this topic is understandable as everyone feels like there are key rights at stake. Yet do we slow down to consider whose rights are at stake? And do we consider what rights are at stake? Answering those two questions is imperative to understanding this topic,” said Rep. Allen at the beginning of his speech.
Rep. Allen began by making the case that science should be the key determining factor as to whether a fetus is a living human being. The clear evidence of unique DNA from the moment of conception and a separate detectable heartbeat and brain waves as early as six weeks was presented as clear evidence of a living human being.
“Our vast medical knowledge makes the reality abundantly clear – a fetus is a preborn human being distinct from its mother. And as a human being, our Declaration of Independence is clear: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [a commonly accepted term at the time to refer to people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted,’” stated Rep. Allen.
Rep. Allen then turned to discuss what rights were at stake and how to weigh competing rights.
“The right to life is the most foundational right, because every other right depends on it. The right to life trumps every other right in priority. As such, no perceived right of the mother would ever overcome the right of the child to life. The only argument one could make would be if the mother’s life is in danger, because then we are talking about two competing rights to life.”
Rep. Allen addressed some common questions regarding the current Wisconsin law before concluding with a powerful call to protect life.
“What about us? Will we be like those who helped end slavery or those who claimed that owning slaves was a right? Will we defend the right to life or treat a whole class of human beings as property, our property to do with what we want?”
Afterwards, Rep. Allen took comments and questions. Different stories and perspectives were shared in civil and respectful dialogue. A video recording of the speech is posted on YouTube and available at https://youtu.be/KJ_JvihXU3w.
