There has been a bit of discussion of abortion in comments over the last few days. That got to the point of calling me a hypocrite but that really isn't such a heavy slam as such discussion usually end when one person calls the other a Nazi and they go storming away.
The purpose of this article is to make my position clear. Call me a hypocrite at end if you like but least the charge will be based on a clear understanding of my position.
During the first trimester, I couldn't care less if a woman has an abortion except insofar as she will sustain a certain measure of emotional damage from the procedure. Even a casual survey of embryology will show in the early trimesters an organism that bears no resemblance to a human. In fact, it's fairly late in development before the human fetus can be easily differentiated from that of a pig.
During the second trimester, I still really don't care much but I question the responsibility of someone who would leave it so long and why there was inadequate counseling on the matter.
During the third trimester, I see, at a minimum, a gross medical malpractice. Pro-life people say the fetus can survive outside the woman at that stage of development but that's obviously utter rubbish. Animals will be up and walking within hours after birth but humans can't do it for years.
Perhaps there's some justification for calling it murder when a late-term abortion is performed but that kind of hysterical language doesn't add much to any discussion of ethics. The fact is that even infanticide wasn't prosecuted for much of human history as it was always a mother's right to decide based on environment, circumstance, etc. It wasn't until the Catholic view that every sperm is sacred before the uproar over abortion started.
I was challenged over quoting Gandhi to criticise the death penalty. I don't apologise for that and will cheerfully do it again. As he said regarding the death penalty that taking an eye for an eye and soon the whole world will be blind. If the concept of an eye for an eye is valid then presumably Sharia law is valid as well. The Saudis chop off heads, blind people, chop off hands, etc and it's all based on an eye for an eye. Americans find Saudi justice abhorrent but the death penalty is acceptable yet both have exactly the same foundation. I see little logical justification for that.
Gandhi didn't force anyone to do anything but rather he made his position clear and then he lived it. I have never caused a woman to need an abortion and I have never told a woman whether she should or should not have one. If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.
The purpose of this article is to make my position clear. Call me a hypocrite at end if you like but least the charge will be based on a clear understanding of my position.
During the first trimester, I couldn't care less if a woman has an abortion except insofar as she will sustain a certain measure of emotional damage from the procedure. Even a casual survey of embryology will show in the early trimesters an organism that bears no resemblance to a human. In fact, it's fairly late in development before the human fetus can be easily differentiated from that of a pig.
During the second trimester, I still really don't care much but I question the responsibility of someone who would leave it so long and why there was inadequate counseling on the matter.
During the third trimester, I see, at a minimum, a gross medical malpractice. Pro-life people say the fetus can survive outside the woman at that stage of development but that's obviously utter rubbish. Animals will be up and walking within hours after birth but humans can't do it for years.
Perhaps there's some justification for calling it murder when a late-term abortion is performed but that kind of hysterical language doesn't add much to any discussion of ethics. The fact is that even infanticide wasn't prosecuted for much of human history as it was always a mother's right to decide based on environment, circumstance, etc. It wasn't until the Catholic view that every sperm is sacred before the uproar over abortion started.
I was challenged over quoting Gandhi to criticise the death penalty. I don't apologise for that and will cheerfully do it again. As he said regarding the death penalty that taking an eye for an eye and soon the whole world will be blind. If the concept of an eye for an eye is valid then presumably Sharia law is valid as well. The Saudis chop off heads, blind people, chop off hands, etc and it's all based on an eye for an eye. Americans find Saudi justice abhorrent but the death penalty is acceptable yet both have exactly the same foundation. I see little logical justification for that.
Gandhi didn't force anyone to do anything but rather he made his position clear and then he lived it. I have never caused a woman to need an abortion and I have never told a woman whether she should or should not have one. If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.
No comments:
Post a Comment