Anti Abortions Politics Must Solve These Issues
There are problems anti abortion politics needs to solve if it is ever going to amount to anything. So far the strategy is to never discuss these problems and hope no one else brings them up. Let's bring them up today.
One is the hundreds of thousands of frozen fertilized human eggs stored facilities that provide this service. Only a tiny fraction of them will ever be placed inside women attempting to become pregnant. The link , written by an anti abortion zealot, refers to each of these microscopic bits of tissue as "individual human beings."
Eventually, those who have been paying for the freezer space will die or stop paying. Besides shouting protests, what are anti abortion cranks doing about this? I've not read of any fund drive to pay for the freezer space. Maybe instead of protesting at women's clinics anti abortion operatives could get jobs to pay for this service. An endowment for hundreds or thousands of years is needed. Of course, it is more fun to be in front of clinics passing judgement on the women passing by than to actually do something about the frozen "human beings."
The other issue is the one I've written about before. It is about the economics of giving birth and the rights of women who pay for it. For parents or single parents the cost of raising a child is now over $200,000. To anti abortion advocates, paying this cost is like the pain of child birth. It is God's punishment for having sex. Eve caused the original sin and women need to be punished for ever.
For whatever reason, anti abortion zealots do not have the ability to address these two issues. Their emotions give them a tunnel vision so focused on the fertilized egg they are unable to grasp the importance of the two issues discussed above. It would be refreshing to see them do something, anything, about frozen eggs and women's rights.
They could, or example, draft a document laying out in specific terms what rights women will retain after abortion is no longer legal. All organizations now opposing abortion could sign onto these rights for women--this would be effective in gaining support from legislators.
But, of course, such a document will never be written because anti abortion zealots do not stand for any rights for women.
Did you ask what the Catholic Church's position is on invitro fertilization? Is it alone? Is it declared dogma?
ReplyDeleteIs it omission or commission?
In case your question was not rhetorical: https://www.catholicireland.net/bioethics-and-the-catholic-moral-tradition/
DeleteAll of your so-called well-intentioned concerns are covered by long-standing Catholic doctrine. That goes for abortion, contraception, IVF and a host of other reproductive moral issues.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen a list of women's rights.
ReplyDeleteThough a bit tangential to your topic Jon, you might find some of this essay of interest: http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/issues_publications/women-reproductive-rights-and-the-church-2/ .
DeleteJon, you might have to read some Catholic literature, rather than proclaim that you haven't seen a list of women's rights. Start with the Catechism. You can certainly research individual topics, if you really want to study and understand Catholicism. Pray tell, what is the atheist's list of women's rights? Muslims? Hindus? Quakers? Democrats? Italians?
DeleteI did look the a list of women's rights and did not find it. I found an essay explaining that only men can be clergy and be over women for most everything. Women are "equals" it said because they can have children. Over on a parody site I read they make fun of this. They ask every woman who comes on the site how many males, "soldiers for Christ," she has produced.
DeleteThat women cannot hold clergy positions in the church but are "equals" because they can go through the pain of child birth while missing paychecks is so not the year 2019. It might have been ok in 1019. That is why 99% of Catholics ignore its mandate on birth control. It makes a joke of "sin."
DeleteAh, so you "did look the a (sic) list of women's rights and did not find it". The Catholic Church does not distinguish "rights" of men vs. women vs. children, etc. I understand how a believer in identity politics might like to think everything is about identity politics but it isn't. I find it amazing that childbirth pain is "so not the year 2019". Are you blaming men for biology, now? As for missing paychecks try asking that question of Bernie Sanders who pays his campaign staff less than the $15 minimum wage he says he is in favor. You need to 'up your game' a bit unless you only want to appeal to the IQ85 crowd. That's a lot like E85.
Delete"The Catholic Church does not distinguish 'rights' of men vs. women vs. children, etc." So when only men can be priests and women do not have to right to become priests women are not denied rights. That clearly establishes rights of men over women.
DeleteWhy are the reproductive rights of women a moral issue at all?
ReplyDeleteArdy B-- Thanks for that reference. It explained that Constantine and Thomas Aquinas had the view women are inferior and sinful, how else would Adam have sinned, and needed to be controlled. It also explained when and why the Catholic Church ramped up abortion as its marque issue. The effort to stop Catholics from using birth control had failed so it needed a replacement. From Constantine to Aquinas to today's Catholic hierarchy is one long campaign to preserve positions of privilege at the expense of women.
ReplyDeleteThe San Salvador proscription cited in the essay is precisely what you have been warning about as the anti-abortion zealots in the US ‘infest’ our state legislatures and federal government.
DeleteArdy--Yes, San Salvador is the worst country I've heard about. Other countries outlaw abortions but the government mostly looks the other way. In San Salvador the government uses a lot of its meager revenue to chase down women who are or were pregnant. According to Mechelle Oberman, "He Body, Our Laws", even there those with a little money and live in urban areas get abortions. Successful prosecution of women for abortions is done almost exclusively to poor women in rural areas. In practice, "right to life" is a class war.
ReplyDelete