Leah, studying psychology
Long Beach City College
Liberal Arts Campus “E” Quad.
February 6

  • Do you consider yourself religious?
  • Leah: I’m not sure.
  • Do you believe in any sort of higher being?
  • Leah: I think there could be. I’m not sure. My family is religious but we’re kind of like the bad religious where we don’t really go to church but we say we are. We’re Catholic and other family members believe in God but I’m not sure. They go to church on holidays and when they feel like they should go. Just randomly, oh, I’m going to go to church today, but it’s not a constant thing, every single week.
  • Were you raised going to church?
  • Leah: In the beginning, when my mom was going to school. Then slowly, after she got a job she said we didn’t have as much time for it.
  • Have you heard about the current sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church?
  • Leah: I was walking past the TV today and I was hearing things about it but I didn’t really pay attention to it. I had to leave for school.
  • Do you know anything about Pope Francis?
  • Leah: No, I don’t. I’m sorry.
  • Catholics are traditionally against abortion. Is your family against abortion?
  • Leah: Yeah. I’m not. I’m not exactly, I feel like it’s none of my business but my family is very strongly against it.
  • How do you see abortion?
  • Leah: I couldn’t do it myself but I feel like it’s not my place to say what other people should or shouldn’t do. I wouldn’t do it because I still think it’s kind of killing but it’s none of my business whatever anyone else does.
  • Do you apply that same view of minding your own business to things like drunk driving or assault?
  • Leah: No. I don’t think that’s right.
  • If, in your opinion, abortion is kind of killing, why is it none of your business when these other things are?
  • Leah: I’m not sure. I feel like there’s other sides to things. I don’t know what the person is going through, like if they were raped or something. I don’t know everything going on in that situation.
  • But a similar argument could be made about those other things like drunk driving and assault – we don’t everything else that is going on with these people. Should we not say what they’re doing is wrong?
  • Leah: Yeah. I see that, but we should say it’s wrong because it’s hurting someone. I took an ethics class during the winter and we talked about this. They said the whole argument with abortion is people are saying that at some point it’s just cells and then there comes a point where it’s person. The teacher argued that the argument isn’t whether killing is wrong, the argument is whether it’s a person or not at that stage. That’s what people are arguing about. Because everyone knows killing is wrong. That’s kind of what I got from the class. He did the class kind of weird because he didn’t want anyone saying their opinion. He just talked at us because he didn’t want us thinking one way about another student for having a certain opinion. So he didn’t really want us to say our opinions as much. He didn’t want students to argue with other students across the room. He just doesn’t want people arguing with each other.

  • At what point in a pregnancy do you think it becomes a person?
  • Leah: I don’t know enough about it. I don’t want to make a decision if I don’t know enough about it.

  • If abortion might be killing a person, wouldn’t it be safer to say don’t do it?
  • Leah: Yeah, I think it would be safer but we don’t know exactly. It depends on how people view if it’s a baby or just cells. I think it all depends.
  • Do you believe in an afterlife?
  • Leah: I believe there could be one. I’m not sure either way.
  • Are you interested in trying to find out if there’s a God?
  • Leah: I’m just kind of focusing on what I’m studying in school right now. I’m trying to get through it as fast as I can.