Are these freedoms? Who defines freedom?

Question

to harm yourself, (drugs)
not wear seatbelts or helmets?
to marry who you wish (same sex)
to abort your offspring

Why do these seem like freedoms to me, when others in our culture believe they should be limited?

why did we legalize alcohol and abortions?
I thought we learned from the mistakes.....

Answer 1

Freedoms are the opposite of restrictions.

In the US, the Constitution allows the government to place restrictions on us, except in certain areas. Those ares, where the government is not allowed to regulate, are often called "rights". Freedoms exist within rights.

So, in any discussion of this topic, the fundamental question is -- what is the government allowed to regulate, and what is the government prohibited from regulating.

According to the Supreme Court, the government (primarily the state govt, because of the 10th Amendment enumerated powers clause) can regulate safety and welfare matters.

This includes prohibiting harmful substances and requiring the use of seat belts. The federal government cannot regulate seat-belts because they are not one of the enumerated powers. Nor can the federal government regulate the use of drugs. However, the federal government can regulate the possession, purchase and sale of drugs, under the commerce clause.

As for other areas of life, the Supreme Court has read certain rights (hence restrictions on govt regulation) between the lines in the Constitution, based on the 9th Amendment. Among those are what it considers "fundamental rights", which are areas neither the state nor federal government can excessively regulate.

Among two recognized fundamental rights are the right to choose your spouse (with limitations), and the right to choose what medical procedures you have on your own body (with limitations). The limitations are the current areas of debate.

It's not a matter of "legalizing" alcohol and abortions. It's a matter of whether the government was allowed to place restrictions on them in the first place.

And alcohol is unique in that it is the only "vice" that was explicitly prohibited by Constitutional Amendment, only to have that prohibition later repealed by another Constitutional Amendment.

Answer 2

To use drugs, not wear seatbelts, gay marriage and abortion are not freedom but deviations from the law. Alcohol must be regulated so that there will be fewer crimes. Conservative values must be reinstated to protect the people from abuses as a result of liberalism.

Answer 3

Freedom is measurable by the amount of personal choice available to members of a society. I believe that one should be free to act as one wishes, as long as those actions do not interfere with the freedoms of others.