I was asked just today by a pro-choice Republican why some “right wingers” are “obsessed” with abortion to the exclusion of so many other issues.
Obsessed? I asked.
“Yes,” he said adamantly. “Some right wingers act like that’s the only thing that matters.”
I asked him what issues motivated him and he said strong defense and taxes. OK.
Here’s the thing. In society, nothing can be defended if life itself is undefended. What moral ground can we stand upon when the right to life is subject to whims.
Life is the bedrock upon which all other rights exist. No other rights are safe if the right to life is not sacrosanct. So “obsessed” is what every American should be over the right to life.
Abortion for decades now has been argued to be a vehicle for economic betterment and health. But as we continue to see ourselves as a collective rather than an individualistic society, eugenics of the ill, disabled, and elderly can easily be argued to be a vehicle for economic betterment and health of the masses.
You might remember the case in Italy a few years back where a mother had unborn twins in her womb. The one twin was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome who the husband and wife chose to abort. But, accidentally, the doctor performing the abortion killed the healthy baby.
The mother, according to news reports, said that her life had been ruined. According to the Times Online:
“Neither my husband nor I can sleep at night,” she told the Corriere della Sera, which first reported the blunder. She said that the happiness she and her husband had experienced when they learnt that she was expecting twins had been transformed into heartbreak.
Her husband said that they were “truly desperate over this terrible mistake” and were consulting family lawyers.
So they were ok with killing a Down’s child but heartbroken over the accidental death of a healthy child.
Our culture is suffering from a fetish of perfection. If it’s not a perfect baby I don’t want it. And when our parents grow old and are unable to take care of themselves we talk about murder in terms of mercy.
Any culture that argues that murder is acceptable for the sole reason that the baby human is in the womb will find other ridiculous reasons to murder those outside the womb. We’ll talk about the drain on the health care system. We’ll talk about a lack of contribution to society.
After World War II, many people claimed to be shocked that the popular theory of eugenics could lead to genocide. How? It’s the same thing. It’s all about death to the inconvenient other. According to Sartre, hell is other people. Eugenics simply delivers the hell back to them.
And as for the strong defense my friend was concerned about, what are we defending ourselves from if we’re killing our own? Our enemies can just wait us out as we destroy ourselves.
July 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Don't forget the clash of cultures that arises when blind or deaf couples "select" blind or deaf embryos. Subjectivist vs. eugenecist cage match, my friend…
God Bless,
Ryan
July 13, 2009 at 1:53 pm
You're looking at this all wrong, Matthew. If you don't have the right to life, you never have to worry about taxes.
July 13, 2009 at 7:45 pm
How very sad they can choose to "want" one baby and not the other.
St Paul is so right in that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I think our culture (including myself at times), puts our "flesh" at the foreground of the most important decisions. All to avoid pain or suffering. It seems like I've grown the most when I'm confronted with things my "flesh" is uncomfortable with.
July 13, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Was it the greeks or the romans that found the notion of such imperfection as a lamed god to be equal to one that was a serial rapists and murderer, or the various other horrifically nasty "good" gods?
July 13, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Evil begets more evil.
Matthew you didn't say if you gave this pro-abortion (let's call it what it is and skip the euphemisms) Republican your opinion on the matter. I have come across MANY of these "I'm fiscally conservative but socially progressive" Republicans, which is why I have no respect or loyalty to that party anymore. So, next time you tell him/her that the reason you feel so strongly about abortion is because you are American and fully support the Bill of Rights which guarantees EVERY citizen to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A life in the womb is still a life and should be thus guaranteed every right of this land.
July 14, 2009 at 8:57 am
I have two children with type one diabetes and I have talked about this in the past. I am sure that if the culture of death continues on the downward slope that one day both my boys will be defending their lives and why they should be allowed to live.
July 15, 2009 at 7:26 am
If life is sacred,
1. is the government wrong to try and assassinate Osama Bin Ladin?
2. was it wrong to give up Saddam Hussein to be hanged.
3. Are prediator drone strikes immoral if they knowingly end up killing many innocent bystanders.
4. Is taking of life in war immoral
Just curious
July 15, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Are you serious or just trolling?
The notion of "assassinating" a terrorist who is attacking us make me think the latter, but…..
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2321.htm
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2263.htm
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2267.htm
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2304.htm
October 7, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Thank you for the links
So it sounds like Osama is fair game but hanging Sadaam, since he was in prison and no longer able to inflict any more damage, was not correct.
Also, could you be so kind as to quote some references in scripture.
The quotes are from Catechism of the Catholic Church…and we know how the teaching of the Church changes over the years
November 6, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I would leave it up to the mother to decide. A baby in the womb is dependent on the mother for survival. But the mother is not dependent upon the child.
Let's keep Big Government out of the woman's right to decide what is best her.
We can no longer afford a welfare state that takes care of children of poor mothers.
If mother's feel they cannot care for a new baby she should be the one to decide
December 4, 2010 at 2:19 am
So, the child has a basic human right when they can survive on their own… Would that be age six or twelve?
December 4, 2010 at 2:28 am
"I would leave it up to the mother to decide."
Easy for you to say. Your mother already did.