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The Forum > Article Comments > Abortion and the human person > Comments

Abortion and the human person : Comments

By Peter Sellick, published 9/7/2018

It seems impossible to refuse the conclusion that the foetus is a potentially self-aware human being and that it may not be disposed of as passive tissue or as animal life.

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Dear Peter,

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You wrote :

« The fall of Christendom and the rise of secularism has profound consequences for our understanding of the human person »
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As I am sure you are aware, Peter, secularism (the separation of the state from religious institutions) has not "risen" (increased). It is a principle that remains constant. Nor could you possibly ignore the fact that the "fall" (decline) of Christendom has nothing to do with secularism. It is due essentially to two factors :

• the lack of credibility of the Church’s dogma and teachings to an increasingly better educated public in the modern world of the 21st century.

• the falling fertility rate (births per woman) in all countries without exception, and in dramatic proportions in Western countries. In Australia, the fertility rate fell from 3.5 in 1960 to 1.8 in 2016 :

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN

It is quite naughty of you to misinform and mislead your faithful flock of followers in this way. I am sure you know better.
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Even more surprisingly, you declare :

« We have no control over the thoughts that emerge in us »

Really ? That is a most astonishing statement. Do you really believe that we are incapable of reflection, of analysing our thoughts; of modifying or rejecting them? Perhaps, even, of realising that the exact opposite is true? Do you believe that we have no control whatsoever over them? Do we simply act on our uncontrolled impulses?

If so, I beg to differ.
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Also, with reference to the equalitarianism ideal that is the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), you note that Iran declared that it would always choose Islamic law. Since then, Iran has led the struggle to modify the UDHR.

As you probably know, Iran is a founding member of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) created in 1972, with 57-member states comprising a total population of about 1.5 billion. Iran’s historic rival, Saudi Arabia, is also a founding member.

Ironically, it was an Australian Christian fundamentalist, Denis Michael Rohan, who ...

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(Continued …)

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Posted by Banjo Paterson, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 2:14:11 AM
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If adoption was compairable in price to abortion then it would at least be a start. Right now they aren't on the same playing field of it being a readily available option.

There are other issues that abortion is seen as a solution to though. Most of them stem around the idea that the woman's life is over because of the pregnancy, or because of the baby. ("It'll ruin your life," kind of thinking). That kind of issue isn't resolved in adoption alone but can be addressed by a culture shift away from shaming new mothers that descided to keep their baby, or by helping find resources (such as jobs or incouraging community and family assistance).

But yes adoption is the biggest solution that I am aware of, and should be more available. At least as readily available an option as abortion is.
Posted by Not_Now.Soon, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 2:17:00 AM
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(Continued …)

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... prompted the creation of the OIC when he set fire to the pulpit of the Al-Aqsa mosque, in Jerusalem triggering an uproar throughout Islam :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Michael_Rohan
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As for abortion, you have amply explained your reasons for opposing it, so I shall not add to that. On the positive side, I should like to quote from the speech of Simone Veil who presented the project of law legalizing abortion in France in 1974 : “No woman ever resorts to abortion with pleasure. You just have to hear the women. It is always a tragedy. It will always be a tragedy".

In addition, the following four reasons come to mind :

1. The right to choose

It’s her body, and it should be her choice. Abortion is never an easy decision. However, it should be a decision made by women themselves and not by (overwhelmingly male) lawmakers. Women know their own situation better than any judge or politician, and they are best-placed to make the difficult choice. The state should never force a woman to carry a foetus to term against her wishes

2. Banning abortion is condemning women to die

Every 11 minutes, a woman somewhere in the world dies from complications related to unsafe abortion. Making abortion illegal does not reduce the number of terminations taking place. Instead, it often drives women into the hands of black market abortionists, who perform illegal and unsafe operations

3. Legalising abortion does not mean more abortions

Several countries that have legalised abortion (such as Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands) actually have a lower rate of abortion than many countries in which the practice is illegal. This is because countries that ban abortion often also ban or heavily restrict access to contraceptives and sex education. If abortion is one option alongside a set of family planning measures available to women (and men), then it can be safe, legal, and rare

4. Obeying the supposed law of a hypothetical god can only be the personal choice of a woman who believes in a god who opposes abortion.

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Posted by Banjo Paterson, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 2:20:45 AM
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Killing a human is wrong. Expecially killing an innocent person. If there was less focus on abortion being the solution, then the rational of it's only killing a feotus would dissipate as well. I'm confidant that if abortion wasn't seen as the only realible choice, then the rationalizations and excuses used to support abortion would die off too.
Posted by Not_Now.Soon, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 2:31:35 AM
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There are no free rides for women or the aborted child, with abortion as the final solution.

As a convenient alternative to the Chinese solution of leaving the new born at the front gate overnight, to feed stray dogs, it has a more civilised and refined efficiency in the West.

But in the end it is all simply murder!
Posted by diver dan, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 6:18:52 AM
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The dream...

There appears to be a crying need for a bright young geneticist to modify women's bodies, to act in the reverse of their current and natural morphology.

This whole agonising question of wether or not to kill a foetus would be eliminated, if women could swallow a pill to become pregnant, rather than the opposite.
Posted by diver dan, Tuesday, 10 July 2018 6:58:52 AM
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