Should morality be legislated?

[A Black Falcon]

The birth-rates are shrinking in which developed worlds? I know Japan is one of them, but as far as I know, they aren't shrinking in America. Perhaps you mean Canada? Do you have any references? I don't think it takes a great leap of faith to believe that globally, overpopulation should be more of a concern than underpopulation.

In the developed world, actually, populations are at best stagnant and most are dropping. The only exceptions are because of immigration. The US is in much better shape than most -- the US birthrate is about 2.0 or so (2.1 is replacement), meaning the population is about even, but because we allow in many immigrants, the national population is increasing. Most European nations and the developed nations of Asia (South Korea and Japan), though, are not so lucky, and some are facing serious problems over the next century -- since most of those nations do not like immigration because they have a sense of national identity that is tied to race, and not just 'anyone who lives here is an American eventually' like America, even Koreans who have lived in Japan for fifty years or longer are 'Korean', not Japanese. With very low to almost no immigration and some incredibly low birthrates (what is Japan, 1.3 or something?), Japan's population is currently expected to go from 125 million or so now to at most 100 million in just fifty years, and keep steeply dropping unless they can do something about the birthrate -- Japan has the longest life expectancy in the world and that slows down the rate of decline somewhat)

In Europe, Spain and Italy aren't much better off (I think Spain and Italy have two of the lowest birthrates in Europe, and I don't know if any of the Western or even Central European countries reach 2.1... maybe some in cental or eastern Europe. Maybe.)... France and England are doing a bit better, and England does allow more immigration, but other parts of Europe have trouble. Russia also has a dropping population, though there a relatively low birthrate is only part of the problem... Russia also has a very low life expectancy and some big public health problems.

As for the third world, that is where the nations with growing populations are. While much of sub-Saharan Africa has been decimated by AIDS, some African nations are growing rapidly, and South and Southeast Asia is exploding... in short, there is a looming population shortage in many of the nations that could use at least a stable population and can afford to deal with the problems of having more people, and a huge population crisis in nations that can't. It really is a big problem, and will get larger with time.

That sounds about right, depending on how you define "illegal prostitution." Let's say a secretary is in dire need of some extra cash, as she is a struggling, single mother (boy, does this sound like a build-up to a porn, or what?). Her boss offers her a financial supplement in exchange for sex. Should that be illegal, since she is not undergoing the typical avenues of exchanging sex for money (which, in this case, would be to enlist in the proper place and go through set procedures)? I doubt you'd disagree with that, since it seems your main gripe is keeping it off the streets and out of sight, so perhaps my example is superfluous.

In that situation, of course, it should be illegal, like how it's illegal for teachers to have sex with their students even after they reach the local age of consent -- there's a clear inequity in the relationship there, and expectations of favoritism or something would be impossible to avoid.

One of the main problems with legalized prostitution is that even legalized, I would expect that unfairness would continue to be a huge problem. I know it's legal in Nevada and don't know how well it works there, but it just seems like it's such as easy way to exploit people in, that making it legal would likely not help that much... perhaps it could, but I'm very, very sceptical.

Gambling: I don't disagree with its legal status. I don't participate or care if people choose waste their money.

Gambling is a tax on people who can't afford to pay it (lower-income people, that is). As such there are major moral problems with gambling... still, as a major source of state revenues all over the country, it's going nowhere, that's for sure.

Abortion: It should be legal. Some people simply aren't ready to have children, nor should they be forced to raise it. Adoption? Sure, it's an alternative, but the child may still feel unwanted. The world is already over-populated. Why raise more god damn children when they're already too many? There's nothing beautiful about giving birth to a child. It does not make you special; mostly everyone else can do the same. Raising a child properly is special, and if there's a bad chance of this taking place, and if the parents are unfit, there's no reason to force them. I do not see the child as an independently living creature until it's birth (or perhaps by the 3rd trimester), and hence, don't see it as any more murderous than removing a tumor or parasite before then. Don't take that the wrong way.

I'd say that abortion isn't really a moral issue anymore, it's a political one. As such morality or what is right really doesn't have much to do with it... (I, of course, support the right to choose)

Suicide/euthanasia: Yup. If someone really wants to die, and is in constant suffering, who am I to force him to live? He's not truly master of his own domain if I force my own self-righteousness upon him. I may disagree, but it's not my decision to make. On the other hand, someone who is mentally ill and at times DOES value life ought to be saved and helped.

Suicide isn't like euthanasia... there is no justification for suicide. Euthanasia? That's a little trickier, but I'm sceptical. What if sometime soon after some new treatment is developed that would have helped? Maybe that's unlikely, but if there's a chance...

Personally, I feel that all of the above (aside from hard drugs, in which I am still undecided) should all be legal.

My opinion on this hasn't changed. I oppose the legalization of any illegal drugs and wish that we could make tobacco illegal too.

Maybe more studies should look into whether marijuana actually makes a difference for specific cases of terminal illnesses that no other drugs will help alleviate, but beyond that, absolutely not. (And even in that case, it would be incredibly hard to manage that... sell it how, pharmacies? As if the number of places robbed for their OxyContin isn't enough... those ridiculous 'medicinal marijuana' laws that just say 'you can have it' without having a system for getting it beyond illegal means that help drug traffickers are bad laws, something else would have to be done. But first there would actually need to be proof that it helps and nothing else can in those cases, and I'm not so sure that that proof actually exists or could, so it's all hypothetical anyway. The controls for making sure that it's actually a legitimate incurable illness that has no better option would also be quite difficult to maintain I'd think.) No, just keeping it illegal is best.