Life, Death and Choice.

This morning I made the mistake of looking at facebook and came across another abortion argument. Of course I have learned by now not to engage in discussions on the topic because it is a rare person who is actually interested in hearing opinions that are contrary to what they already “know” to be true. Still, there are certain points I would like to bring up that seem to escape the attention of those who are too emotionally invested in a preferred outcome. Before continuing, I would just like to say that this is not intended to convince anyone as to whether or not abortion is right or wrong, nor is it an invitation to debate the issue, but is simply my attempt to give a little more food for thought on the subject that seems to be overlooked by most. So here goes.

1. Sanctity of life vs. right to life.

Since the majority of those in the pro-life camp are at least somewhat religious, it is inevitable that the idea of the sanctity of life should come up as proof that people have a right to live. I don't deny that we do have that right, but I don't think it stems from sanctity or sacredness, which simply means set aside for some special purpose. The notion that we are here to serve some purpose not of our own choosing would imply that we don't have rights, not that we do. Also, there is nothing in the bible that gives the impression we have any rights at all, including the right to live. From the biblical perspective humans are merely the property of God, and property itself does not have rights. For one human to murder another is tantamount to one slave killing another. The bible has many stories of God killing children as punishment for the sins of their parents, including the flood, and the only way Christians can defend this killing is by stating that since we were created by God then he has the right to destroy us. I don't see how that can be interpreted as a right to life.

1. Positive vs. negative rights.

The pro-life position requires a belief in positive rights (you have a right to take from others based on your need and not on their consent), which ironically is consistent with the progressive philosophy so many of them oppose on most other issues. It is necessary to believe in positive rights if one is to argue that a fetus has a right to continue feeding off a woman's body, against her will, because otherwise it will not survive (depending of course on what stage of pregnancy the woman is in). I am not trying here to argue for or against positive rights, even though I come out against the idea, but trying to point out that the pro-life movement rests on the idea of positive rights, at least for the fetus. Many have argued that a woman gives consent to being pregnant just by the very act of intercourse. Even if that were true, which I don't think it is, that in no way negates her right to bodily autonomy. Now some will assert that the unborn fetus has the same right to bodily autonomy, which would override that of the mother, but that assertion rests on the assumption that the fetus has a separate existence. However, perhaps it is precisely because it doesn't have a separate existence that it cannot live outside the woman's body.

1. Choosing life vs. choosing death & who gets to choose.

What gets lost in the whole abortion debate is the fact that not only does life begin at conception, but so does death. One objection to a woman's right to choose an abortion is that the fetus doesn't get to choose. However, this ignores the fact that from the perspective of the fetus, both life and death are imposed, not chosen. People are so busy asking whether or not a fetus has a right to live, they seldom stop to ask if it has a right not to and generally assume that given a choice, it would want to live. Self-ownership is a meaningless concept when applied to a life that cannot conceive of what a self is, and cannot distinguish between its own existence and that of its mother. Therefore, any choice in the matter must belong solely to the person who must carry it, which is the mother.

I don't expect to change anyone's mind or position on this issue, but at the very least, maybe we should avoid black and white thinking when it comes to abortion, realizing that the choices we make in life are not always between right and wrong, but are often between two or more rights or wrongs.