Legislating Morality

There is a tired, old, and ignorant cliche that goes like this: "You cannot legistlate morality."

It really insinuates many things. I think a libertarian might argue that one cannot legislate for morality, whereas a social liberal might argue that one cannot legislate against morality. The categories aren't as water-tight as that, but essentially the point of the argument is that individuals are responsble for moral decisions and it is not the role of the government to intervene.

This argument is ridiculous.

The whole foundation of the law rests on moral truth. Now, many postmodernists and postmodern experts in the law might argue that law should be established on social construction- a social contract of agreement based upon our norms, if you will. But we all universally agree that cold-blooded murder is against the law, and it ought to be. This is a moral reality, and we made it into a law. I cannot kill you if I want to, and I can be put in jail because of it. Yes, we are legislating morality, and it isn't a bad thing. Even arguments for universal health care rest on the belief that access to medical care should be a right for everyone. This is a moral argument. In effect, universal health care is a proposal to doctors, insurance providers, and the government to legislate morality.

Essentially, what I'm saying is that legislating for moral realities is not altogether a bad thing. That is why I think abortion should be illegal. It should be illegal to harm or kill someone without their consent (I'm avoiding Kevorkian here). Other personal moral decisions, such as personal belief, should not be legistlated for or against, and that is why I am a proponent of the 1st Amendment.

Doug Groothuis also breaks this argument down, showing how Martin Luther King Jr. even advocated for moral legislation (The Civil Rights Act legislated morality).

Nancy Gibbs, in this time essay, raises some very interesting questions regarding life and moral legislation. She doesn't answer any of her questions, but the questions alone give rise to the importance of thinking through the legislation of moral issues. Read the article, it's quite challenging. If anything, it's a tonic for knowing the theological and philosophical Christian worldview really well.