The Boundaries of Humanity
by Michael Doyle

A problem in law that too often escapes detection
Is the weakest in life to have adequate protection
Rather the unborn or those at the ends of their life
Each deserves their own good without facing strife

To pursue happiness enjoyed in our fullest liberty
Should be the truest aim of ethical anthropology
Invisible or not, we all hold the responsibility
To all others in steadily upholding our human community

Vulnerable in our natural limits, we strive
To have counted in living and do more than survive
Supporting this is the pitch perfect philosophy
And very much needed in this time in our history

What is good and right is grounded in understanding
Of what it means to be a human being and then demanding
That our meaning of self and our bonds of humanity
Rest fully in our connections of place, God and family

Choice then is not really the bioethics of everything
Being human requires more than the dominance it brings
But the understanding of our requirement to protect the weak
Beginning with the wrong values helps no one when we speak

The essence of body-soul dualism is in and at play
Seems palatable with principle and dignity for our lives today
Yet if ever we are to arrive at any equitable solution
We will need to stop and listen carefully to each contribution

There are too many errors in thought on morality
Publicly and privately, we must live with right nobility
Beyond the individual desires that often conspire
To separate ghosts and machines burnt on selfish pyres

We are more than bodies that shell our strong will
Legitimating abortion and infanticide for the sake of a thrill
Justifying murder stating the unborn and elderly lack capability
To be seen as "persons" without functional personality

From this lacking argument, human rights are denied implicitly 
Taking away the dignity of life is nothing less than explicitly
Depriving others of their affirmation without defense
All arguments to the contrary are little but pretense

A mother and her child are not atomized strangers
With conflicts of interests in varying degrees of danger
The right of the mother to life is not the freedom to kill
Unless we are to say that we must ignore all but one will

This is inviable in a network of interdependent vulnerability
That has come together to form the bonds of our society
It is unreasonable to believe this sadly, grave mistake
That anyone is so independent as that equality must break

If we are to keep the worth of our sacred sense of dignity
To do without these thoughts is to bring harm to society
This throw away culture of today must be put to its right
Straightened to correct and live our lives in the light

(c) November 13, 2020  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved