We have certain rights appointed to us in our lives depending on where we live and our culture. These rights allow us to practice certain behaviors without lawful consequence. Some of these rights create controversy because, even though they are “legal” they may be deemed as unmoral.

One of the most Controversial practices in the Aztec culture, was the act of human sacrifice. The purpose of human sacrifice was to pay off the blood dept they believed they owed to the Gods. This was perfectly normal and “legal” in Meso-America, does this mean it was morally right? According to Aztec-history.com, they would put the person they were sacrificing on a slab and cut out their heart. They would then throw them down the stairs of the sacrificial temple. The people that were sacrificed had no choice whether they were sacrificed or not. In the book, Natural and Moral History of the Indies by José de Acosta; they held wars just so they could collect prisoners to sacrifice. They tried their hardest not to kill the people they went to war with so that they would be healthy for the sacrifice. Although some people may not have agreed to it,this was seen as an ordinary practice, done once a month for their 18 month cycle. Controversial practices did not just stop there, they continue into the century we live in now, and
are practiced in our cultures.

A controversial practice of our time is the abortion. People have very strong opinions when it comes to this issue. Women have the right to abort their babies for any reasons. Just because they have the right to get abortions, does that mean it is morally ok? The fetus has already been conceived and already began growing and maturing. From the Editors of Time-Life Books, Growth, New York: Life Science Library, after 18 days from conception, the baby’s heart begins pulsing. So if a mother aborts her child during this time, she is technically killing him/her. This is technically murder, which is illegal in most countries, but it is legal for a mother to do it as long as the child has not given labor yet. This is one of the most controversial practices of modern time, because like in the Aztec culture, something that would usually be deemed as unacceptable becomes a normal. So when are these practices not acceptable?

In the Aztec culture, they would not be allowed to sacrifice their own people in their culture. That would be seen as murder. It is only approved if they were caught during battle. But what if they do not catch any prisoners during battle? Then what should they do? In this case they cause battles amongst each other known as, flower wars. It would never be alright for a mother to kill her child after it is conceived. She can get up to life in prison in the U.S. What if she can no longer care for the child, and it would be better for the child to not grow up with a mother like that? They claim that there are agencies that will take in those children, but they also would have taken the children right when they were born, so why did they need to be aborted?
You can see that the Aztec culture relates to our modern day culture, with the fact that they both have controversial practices that, although they may be legal, are morally corrupt. They create a debate amongst people and cause an up rise in society.