abortion

[Magn]

The law is the agreed upon definition of what is ethical and unethical. Every person has his and her own ethics and one cannot say that someone's opinion about what is ethical and not is wrong. Sure you can make all kinds of arguments supporting your opinion of what is ethical but unless you convince the other person that you are right then his/her opinion about what is ethical is worth as much as yours. In my opinion the law, what the majority of the people consider ethical and unethical, ought to be of interest when discussing ethics.

First of all, not all laws are voted on (by the general population that is). Actually, most aren't so I fail to see how they portray the values of the majority as long as they don't go so much against the general tendency that people feel a need to manifest their outrage.

Laws are essentially a practical application of some abstract ideal.

They are always in a state of change and can always be improved to better portay their abstract ideological roots in a multitude of unforeseen situations.

I would not hold the laws to be the highest authority in ethics, only in our current knowledge of their application. There is a nuance here.