A view of anti-abortionist cruelties

[intaglio]

In recent days I have been posting on my blog A Man of Names responses to a fundamentalist Christian. Now, I make no bones about it I am an atheist (whether I am a Gnu Atheist I or others have yet to decide) and I found this particular persons beliefs terrible. During this conversation a reference was made to the pagan practise of exposing infants who were thought unfit. I'll ignore, for now, the rights and wrongs of such customs and instead begin by quoting my response.

I am tempted to ignore your little dig at pagan societies, based as it is upon a near complete ignorance of history, but I will not. Are your supposed pagans worse than Christian communities that condemn a mother to extended and agonising death for carrying a heavily deformed child or a still birth or an ectopic pregnancy? Because that is what a ban on late abortion does. Women die because of such conditions and the death is not pleasant but I suppose that too is just another "just" punishment for woman's role in original sin.

I surprised myself because it had not occurred to me just how terrible the anti-abortionist stance on "late" abortions is and I have no excuse, either, for my sister nearly died from an unrecognised and advanced ectopic pregnancy. Anti-abortionists (never pro-lifers) are willing for women to die to support their beliefs and for the under privileged and poor to suffer more hardship and poverty.

It is women who suffer the most from these consequences yet there is little or no sympathy for them. When I hear anti-abortionists what I hear is "you must suffer for your sin," whenever they cry "think of the children,"

Just my 2 cents

[PDJane]

1. Precisely.

The stance is NOT pro-life; pro-life is concerned with the quality of life, and that includes the life of the mother and whatever other children she may have.

It is also quite accurate that a young person can get pregnant at anywhere from age 11 to fifteen; that doesn't mean that her body is ready to bear a child. Under those circumstances, an abortion is a much safer procedure than giving birth.

And yes, I'm at least an agnostic; the whole business of organized religion has given me an almost visceral disgust since I was a pre-teen. It seems, in some ways, a form of mass hysteria.

[pipi_k]

2. I dunno, but...

the term "anti-abortionist" just makes me cringe.

Its opposite would be "pro-abortionist", and I think we would all agree that hardly anyone is actually PRO abortion.

More like Pro Choice...

[PDJane]

3. Anti-Choice....or Anti-Woman.