Read other letters about this article

• Sunday, October 5, 2008 04:21 AM

  Ethnics Professor

  This is by no means a defense of the Christian right, but very few people have moral beliefs that are free of contradiction. For example, I wonder how many people on UT are pro-choice and against capital punishment? These are in contradiction, just like being pro-death penalty and anti-abortion. The ethical principle that these issues share is the sanctity of life, but that principle is in conflict in the scenarios above.

  You make the mistake of equating "pro-choice" with "pro-abortion". This is simply falling for the right wing framing of the debate. Being pro-choice means just that — that the choice about what to do about an unwanted pregnancy is a private decision that belongs to the people directly concerned, not to the legislature, the courts, or law enforcement. Most people that I know who are pro-choice are anti-abortion. They don't want to see more abortions but fewer unwanted pregnancies.

  But you are quite correct that the "pro-life" stance of the right wing is a sham. These people are anti-abortion, but pro-war and almost invariably in favor of capital punishment. They are "pro-life" for fetuses or blastocysts, but not so much for post-natal life. If the Iraq war could be presented to them as 1,000,000 extreme post-natal abortions, they might consider that the war wasn't such a good idea after all. Just coming up with a statistic on how many pregnant women have been killed by the invasion of Iraq might even have an effect. But since these were by and large brown-skinned, muslim pregnant women, probably not.

  —Frankly, my dear, ... Read Frankly, my dear, ...'s other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel