Text Ticker: If abortion were murder
Eli has a powerful post today about the consequences of the slogan “abortion is murder.” If adherents really believe that, they either (1) are really ineffective at forcibly stopping a concerted mass-murder campaign all around them by unarmed, often quite pudgy, perfectly vulnerable doctors; (2) are believers in radical nonviolence (which the tendency of many such people to support wars of choice makes me doubt); (3) don’t really mean what they say.
Suppose you believe unequivocally that “abortion is murder,” just as the bumper stickers proclaim. You see would-be mothers as accomplices to murder and abortion providers as mass-murderers, with sometimes thousands more victims than the cruelest serial killers. Dr. Tiller was “the concentration camp ‘Mengele’ of our day,” as the killer, Scott Roeder, wrote in 2007.
You also recognize that stopping this mass-murder through peaceful legal means has largely failed. Abortion remains legal 35 years after Roe v. Wade, despite the occasional successes of anti-abortion advocates (e.g., the recently repealed global gag rule, the ban on ‘partial birth’ abortion, the Henry Hyde amendment that screws poor women by restricting federal Medicaid dollars, etc.). Of course you’d prefer peaceful legal advocacy, but in 35 years, the anti-abortion movement has failed to reverse the law. So you begin to examine other options to combat the status quo. After all, nearly everyone believes in the occasional necessity of war and violence.
I’m not with Eli 100% on his implicit denial that there’s no violence going on in abortion. But I think he’s right to force the extremists’ hand to take responsibility for their language.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I hate abortion. I think that it is one of the vilest acts of evil in our society and it is currently being played out on a massive scale, to the tune of 4,000 abortions performed EVERY day in this country. You can probably go ahead and chuck me into the “extremist” category if you like. I’ve participated in marches through my city and have even sported your infamous “Abortion is Murder” bumper sticker in the past.
But I’ll also be the first to admit that your argument for the logical conclusion of pro-life mentalities to be way off. While I do think an abortionist is murdering an innocent human, removing him from the equation won’t stop abortion in the least.
1) As long as abortion remains legal another equipped individual will be able to fill his position almost immediately. If any babies are spared as the result of an abortionist’s murder, it will surely only be temporary.
2) Killing an abortionist will likely serve to unite the opposing side even more, possibly even resulting in MORE murdered babies.
3) There are much more effective measures we can take to reduce abortions the RIGHT way: continue our campaigns to make abortion illegal, work with pregnant mothers in crisis situation, etc.
I’d really like to hear your response to my comments. Do I seem inconsistent in my beliefs? Am I taking responsibility for my language?
June 5th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Nathan, thanks for posting. Brandon, thanks for reading.
You write that killing doctors won’t end abortion in America in part because at the end of the day, abortion would remain legal, other doctors would take their posts, it could unite the opposition, and peaceful advocacy (including counseling) is more effective.
Yeah, I think that’s largely true. Interestingly, though, you don’t seem to dispute my suggestion that if people really thought that abortion constitutes mass-murder (1.3 million a year in the US, I believe), and peaceful legal advocacy has failed, most people (excepting the most determined nonviolence practitioners among us) would turn to violence. It’d be logical for them. I think it’s obscene, but that’s because I don’t think a mass-murder is happening.
If some sort of “God’s militia” blew up abortion clinics and regularly killed doctors, then fewer doctors, particularly in rural America, would provide the procedure. It doesn’t matter whether abortion is legal if there are no doctors to provide it. Some champions of reproductive freedom would continue to practice, but most would not. So I think you’re not correct. Violence really could be effective for abortion foes.
You seem to think that abortion really is murder in the same sense as killing a (real) human being. You must live with a lot of angst, to see this mass-murder all around you, and I sympathize with that.
I guess there’s no way to know exactly how effective a violent campaign would be. I think it depends on the commitment of law enforcement to prosecute criminal activity. But I think, though abortion would remain legal, it would be a big deterrent to would-be abortion doctors.
You asked if your own thinking is consistent. You obviously can ignore my view, but I don’t think so. If people thought that mass-murder (MASS F@#$ING MURDER FOR GOD’S SAKES!!!) really was happening on their doorsteps, they’d be going nuts. The fact that most people aren’t going nuts might inspire you to either reassess your belief that abortion is murder (as opposed to some other awful thing), or step up your advocacy.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
evil in our society and it is currently being played out on a massive scale, to the tune of 4,000 abortions performed EVERY day in this country. You can probably go ahead and chuck me into the “extremist” category if you like. I’ve participated in marches through my city and have even sported your infamous “Abortion is Murder” bumper sticker in the past.
But I’ll also be the first to admit that your argument for the logical conclusion of pro-life mentalities to be way off. While I do think an abortionist is murdering an innocent human, removing him from the equation won’t stop abortion in the least.
1) As long as abortion remains legal another equipped individual will be able to fill his position almost immediately. If any babies are spared as the result of an abortionist’s murder, it will surely only be temporary.
2) Killing an abortionist will likely serve to unite the opposing side even more, possibly even resulting in MORE murdered babies.
3) There are much more effective measures we can take to reduce abortions the RIGHT way: continue our campaigns to make abortion illegal, work with pregnant mothers in crisis situation, etc.
I’d really like to hear your response to my comments. Do I seem inconsistent in my beliefs? Am I taking responsibility for my language?
June 10th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
my mom wanted a baby and it died my friend did not want the baby and she kkilled it
June 10th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Wow, compare the first and third comments. It appears we’re getting pro-life spam!