What seems increasingly clear to me is that, in the absence of an objective definition, a foetus is a life by any subjective measure. My daughter was formed at conception, and all the barely understood alchemy that turned the happy accident of that particular sperm meeting that particular egg into my darling, personality-packed toddler took place at that moment. She is so unmistakably herself, her own person — forged in my womb, not by my mothering…
…But you cannot separate women’s rights from their right to fertility control. The single biggest factor in women’s liberation was our newly found ability to impose our will on our biology… As ever, when an issue we thought was black and white becomes more nuanced, the answer lies in choosing the lesser evil. The nearly 200,000 aborted babies in the UK each year are the lesser evil, no matter how you define life, or death, for that matter. If you are willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it, too.
Written by Antonia Senior over at the Times, and entitled ‘Yes, abortion is killing. But it’s the lesser evil.’ There is not much that one needs to add; anyone who can configure hierarchies of evil in such a way that the (acknowledged) killing of innocents is lesser than the (alleged) restriction of female ‘empowerment’ is clearly beyond the realms of reason and virtue.
It does prefigure the start of an interesting new dynamic in the abortion debate, though. The pro-life lobby have always assumed that if only they could win the argument as to the status of the child that grows in the womb, then they would ultimately triumph. After all, it stands to reason – once the cloud of ambiguity surrounding the status of that which grows in the womb is lifted, then who on earth could still advocate its killing in light of that?
Only, the sentiments expressed by Senior would disprove that theory, and show that this is about much more than definitions of life and personhood. This is about power; and some are clearly willing to kill for it.
Pingback: Times – Antonia Senior: Yes, abortion is killing. But it’s the lesser evil. | eChurch Christian Blog
though I must say your comments do come close to flattery
It’s my personality type and my wife moans at me constantly for exaggeration, you know, the fish I caught was THIS BIG…..
It’s one of my weaknesses (one of many) and I do it everywhere I go. It’s all heartfelt and genuine though, so do take it as an encouragement
Teheh – ‘my wife moans at me constantly for exaggeration’ – I like that. Very witty.
And thank you for the kind words – they are very much appreciated.
Woah, good post, loved the; hierarchies of evil.
Very powerful, in fact one of the most powerful I’ve ever read on this topic and executed extremely succinctly.
This is about power; and some are clearly willing to kill for it.
Bwoy!
May I cross-post this one.
Stuart,
I’m glad you liked it, though I must say your comments do come close to flattery
And yes, you can of course cross-post if you think it worthwhile.
Best,
MM