Content of Character in Question

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. He said this about segregation and discrimination: "Let us never succumb to the temptation of believing that legislation and judicial decrees play only a minor role in solving this problem. Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless." (Quotation from Strength to Love).

What might Dr. King have said about our current treatment of the immature members of our species?

Dr. King devoted his life to opposing the choice to discriminate on the basis of race. But one week after his birthday, we observe the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which freed us to choose to discriminate fatally on the basis of "wantedness," physical maturity, appearance, sex, health, dependence, sentience, parentage or any other criterion, including race, if it is done before birth.

Are these criteria any less arbitrary or subjective than race? By what logic shall we choose criteria for excluding others from the protection of the human community? What does the acceptance of such criteria say about the content of our character?

--Alfred Lemmo