The Anti-Abortion Ideologues Are Ignorant Of Biology

One of the standard arguments from the so-called "Pro-Life" folks is that "Life begins at conception" and that scientists agree. Click on the link below for a podcast that blows this argument out of the water:

The Search For What It Means To Be Alive

Is THIS At The Root Of The Evil?

It is no secret that the Republican party has gone full bore into nationalism, unsupported Christian dogma, attacking non-binary sexuality, misogyny, racism, libertarianism, autocracy, anti-education, anti-US Constitution, and general magical thinking over science-based thinking. Is there one ideology at the base of it all? Click on the link below for a short podcast presenting a provocative point of view on the matter:

It's Always the Season For Male Supremacy

Challenging Anti-abortion Dogma

"Life begins at conception" is the major reason given by the anti-abortion folks to make it illegal. The following links are to sources challenging this unsupported dogma: (1)(2)

If you agree with these challenges but argue for the personhood of the fetus, this link, and this link, challenges that view.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

• Virtually all opposition to Roe v. Wade is religiously motivated.
• Morality based on religious dogma is unconstitutional under the secular law of the USA.
• Rose v. Wade has strong precedence in US law.
• Morality clearly comes from biology and social interactions, not from religious dogma. It is complex with multiple effects from actions. Objective analysis clearly shows that less harm is done to society under Roe v. Wade.

UPDATES: 

• More on precedent
• No, the Supreme Court is not "neutral" on abortion (or any other human right)

History Of Legal Precedent And Greater Recognition Of Human Rights

The Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court is universally recognized as its worst because of its support of slavery. The Civil War and the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery and led to a period of "Reconstruction." However, such was resisted through Jim Crow Laws, which peaked with Plessy v. Ferguson legalizing "separate but equal" in 1896. It wasn't until 1954 that this Supreme Court case was overruled by Brown v. Board of Education. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision recognized the right of a woman to choose abortion up to the time of viability.

The only way women and minorities have gained recognition of their inherent rights is through court decisions actualizing the US Constitution and the use of the legal principle of precedent, which directs a court to look to past decisions for guidance on how to decide a case before it. The history of Supreme Court decisions has been a bumpy ride toward greater recognition of human rights. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it would be another unfortunate case of a recognized human right being no longer so!

Regarding women's rights, it's more than time for the USA to wake up to the fact that the Republicans are attempting to continue a history that has been within the USA since its founding: stripping women of political and economic power.

"Pro-Life" Morality Debunked (One More Time)

I have posted several times on this issue. The above is an encapsulation of my stance regarding the morality of abortion. Click on the links below for two concise and informative videos that also help in this regard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQoSZixSFEw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn_7X9t3xTs

NOTE: If you have a hard time understanding the concepts of continuity of life/evolution, and change as the potential person develops, think in terms of emergence: for example, oxygen and hydrogen are not water until they merge to form it. Thus, parents - sperm and egg - zygote - embryo - fetus - viable person.

"Pro Lifers": Attack The CAUSES Of Abortion

"The decision to have an abortion is typically motivated by multiple, diverse, and interrelated reasons. The themes of responsibility to others and resource limitations, such as financial constraints and lack of partner support, recurred throughout the study." (link)

"In most countries, the most frequently cited reasons for having an abortion were socioeconomic concerns or limiting childbearing." (link)

"THE RATE AT WHICH WOMEN are getting abortions has dropped across the developed world as access to effective contraception has increased, according to a new report, which also concludes that laws restricting abortions do not result in the procedure occurring less frequently, merely less safely." (link)

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The Anti-Choice side of the abortion issue focuses on the potential person within the body of the women and resists the efforts of those who are working to rid society of the causes of abortion. Why? The vast majority of those who are against abortion are conservative and very religious. Conservatives resist governmental efforts to improve the socio-economic status of those in need. (link)

IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THIS, NAME ONE HUMAN RIGHT WHERE CONSERVATIVES ARE IN THE VANGUARD.

MAGICAL THINKING IS A BRAIN POISON

Legal Precedent And Bodily Autonomy

I have posted several times on the issue of abortion. And, I have said that bodily autonomy is the best argument for a women's right to choose to end a pregnancy (link). Why? The legal precedence for such is very strong (link). Why then is there such opposition to accepting this precedent? Consider: 

• The vast majority of opponents to abortion are religious (link).
• Religion is the greatest force for magical thinking on the planet (link).
• Magical thinking is opposed to objective evidence as determined by science-based thinking (link).

The Most Heinous Sin?

The Catholic Church considers abortion as the WORST sin one can commit (link). Consistent with this dogma are the apologists on Catholic Answers Live. Here is an example (see approx the 50-minute point forward in the video), and below was my response:  

• "So, abortion is the WORST sin? I guess God is the biggest sinner then? https://www.verywellfamily.com/making-sense-of-miscarriage-statistics-2371721#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20current%20evidence,This%20statistic%20is%20sobering. Can you see the difference between a fertilized egg, or even an implanted pregnancy, and a human person with the attributes that most people accept as indicative of personhood? How about a violation of a pregnant women's bodily autonomy as being a sin worse than abortion? Instead of focusing on this issue, how about focusing on your dogma of an aborted or miscarried fetus going to God forever because of never committing an actual mortal sin? Think of all the souls with God that may end up in Hell if they achieve the "age of reason" and commit a mortal sin. Please be consistent with your dogma."

Ponder the irony here: these same conservative Catholics will vote for Trump based on this issue. Religion is a brain poison. In contrast to this dogmatic delusion, here is a reasonable "Pro-Lifer" expressing her opinion on how she now votes (link).

Is Christian Morality Objective?

Christian apologists usually mention that morality is objective and it comes from God. I usually retort in a manner that many atheists use:

• If there were no sentient beings, there would be no need for morality.
• Even if there was a God (there is no evidence for any god, and Christianity's foundation is falsified), your God is a person (or 3 of them; that's a discussion for another time), thus, its opinion would be subjective.
• Morality is subjective. It is formed from each rational person's opinion through evolution/biology and socialization, with the input of objective information from science. In democratic societies, laws are reflective of the majority's opinion on morality. It is "bottom-up" instead of an unjustified autocratic "top-down."

If Christian morality was truly objective and came from an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God, why can't Christians and their denominations agree on what are moral acts? A good example of this inconsistency is how Christians argue over abortion:

• It is always wrong because of the sanctity of life, which begins at the moment of conception.
• It is permitted in some circumstances such as protecting the lives of pregnant women.
• It is always permitted because of the sanctity of bodily autonomy.

This link gives more information regarding the value of secular morality.

A Deeper Look Into Personhood

"Now that we’ve started talking about identity, today Hank tackles the question of personhood. Philosophers have tried to assess what constitutes personhood with a variety of different criteria, including genetic, cognitive, social, sentience, and the gradient theory. As with many of philosophy’s great questions, this has much broader implications than simple conjecture. The way we answer this question informs all sorts of things about the way we move about the world, including our views on some of our greatest social debates."

Conservative Christians use the concept of personhood for a product of conception within a woman in a rigid manner. The video below takes a more nuanced look at it (view to the end, as bodily autonomy is addressed briefly):

Personhood: Crash Course Philosophy

"Sanctity Of Life", Abortion, And Population Control

"Our attention should be riveted to the suffering that will follow in the wake of the daily population increase. Please reread Ingram’s paragraph above about the ‘inevitable outcomes of overpopulation.’ It’s a terrifying list of consequences that should terrify those who advocate the sanctity of life. The theologically driven worry about the loss of zygotes, embryos, and early-stage fetuses is inappropriate and entirely misplaced."

Reality is hard for the deluded.

Does "Sanctity of Life" Rule Out Abortion?

An In-Depth Look At Personhood

I have been very open about my opinion in the abortion debate: bodily autonomy for the pregnant woman is the sole decider (link). However, other pro-choice folks focus on the concept of personhood. The brief article below is a nice analysis of the topic (click on the link below)

What Is a Person?

Beware Of The Unholy Alliance

Imagine the difference in the USA's political scene if Evangelical Protestants and Conservative Catholics had not allied around abortion and the LGBTQ/Same-Sex Marriage issues. While the road to this strategic alliance has not always been smooth (link)(link)(link), there has been a "marriage-of-convenience" (link). These two radical religious blocks are essentially double the votes demographically of the "Nones."

Because of the above, progressives must get active and vocal about educating the rest of the US regarding the danger of these far-right religious dogmatists, especially the potential of legally overturning Roe v. Wade and Same-Sex Marriage laws. Talking points should include the long tradition of "Bodily Autonomy" (link)(link) and how science reveals the non-binary nature of sex/gender (link).

An In-depth Look At Bodily Autonomy

• The concept of autonomy goes back to the Greek philosophers. With the European Enlightenment, autonomy comes to be widely understood as a property of persons.
• Most people would agree that autonomy is normatively important.
• An autonomous person has a right to determine their life without interference from social or political authorities or forms of paternalism.
• Autonomy is an important value to be taken into consideration in the abortion debate, although it is referenced in different ways. On the one hand, it is argued that some abortions are justified as an expression of a woman’s reproductive autonomy (see Overall 1990 and Fischer 2003). On the other hand, it could be argued that abortion is morally unacceptable, among other reasons, because it fails to respect the potential future autonomy of the aborted (for a related argument, see Marquis 1989).  Assuming that both of these autonomy-based arguments have weight, adjudicating this dispute requires–among other things–establishing and defending the relative weights of actual and potential autonomy, both in relation to particular choices and in relation to lives as wholes. (link)

Following are a few more links to articles and videos that clarify the controversial principle of "Bodily Autonomy":

A Defense of Abortion: The Violinist Analogy

Abortion Essay - The Bodily Autonomy Argument

My Body, My Choice: Why the Principle of Bodily Autonomy can Unite the Left

Woman, Womb, and Bodily Integrity

YouTube Link

YouTube Link

Why have we so enshrined our right to control our own bodies … unless you happen to be a woman?

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Also:

This link is for any so-called "Pro-lifer" who thinks the God of the Bible shares his or her opinion on abortion and the value of life in general.

This link presents the reality that "Privacy" is not the only support for abortion constitutionally.

Bodily autonomy for a woman who is pregnant is a legitimate point of discussion. However, I support this right to the point that if my mother, for ANY reason, thought that it would have been better for her to abort me, fine.

Long Term, Republicans Had Best Be Careful

"Taking rights away is risky political business. People get mad — which means the Republican Party better get ready."

Want to overturn Roe, Republicans? Get ready for what comes next.

(The Blue Diamond Gallery)

Even Pro-Lifers Can See The Difference

"But hardly anyone truly regards having an abortion as equal in evil to killing an adult or a child. Hardly anyone thinks a woman who has an abortion belongs in a cell next to a guy who strangles his child."

I don't think abortion is murder, and neither do you

Science-based thinker:

Conception is uniting of egg and sperm from two people. During each ovulation cycle, many eggs and perhaps a conception are rejected by women each month. There are no characteristics of a person within a conception. If one or more of these conceptions are implanted in the uterus of a woman, the woman, since she has bodily autonomy, can choose whether to bring this tissue to the point of personhood.

Magical thinker:

This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrdTy58cJro&t=0s&list=WL&index=41

Don't accept the propaganda from the pro-lifers: most women who have first trimester abortions are okay.

The FACTS around the laws in the USA regarding abortion that every Pro-Choice proponent needs to know.

Abortion and the "Sanctity of Life"

Man Shuts Down Anti-Abortion Argument

Abortion rate less now than before Roe v. Wade

Torture Is A Pro-Life Issue

Fundamentalist Christians usually are dogmatic regarding the value of a growing, non-viable fetus and call their view "Pro-Life."  However, how many of the same folks work towards the welfare of the disadvantaged people in society who see few options instead of abortion? (link) In addition, these same folks are more apt to be for torture. (link) This article concerning Trump's nominee for the CIA Directorship position presents the evils of torture.

(Amnesty International)

Abortion From A Legal And Moral Perspective

"Good people disagree about the morality of abortion because we disagree about what defines human nature. First trimester abortions may have absolutely no moral implications whatsoever -- perhaps a first-trimester embryo is no more conscious than a kidney or spleen. Or they may have more serious moral implications. Our culture hasn't come to a consensus on that yet.

"But we know a little bit about murder and the differences between murder and other forms of killing."

Why Abortion Is Different 

Moral Dilemmas

Religious folks like to tout their dogmatic "morality" instead of realizing that morality really is not as "Black and White" as they believe.  A clear example of this gray area is the Trolley Car Problem. as well as the decisions made regarding going to war with "the other."  Now, consider the abortion debate and "Pro-life."  Here, there are two entities: an independent adult and a potential human person depending on the mother for its progress toward independent personhood.  The "Pro-life" folks just ignore biology and bodily autonomy to promulgate their dogma.  I am willing to wager that these same people would not agree to an answer to the trolley problem.  'Nuff said.

Abortion: Not A Biblical Or Moral Issue, But A Political Issue

"In continuing to support Donald Trump simply because he says he will outlaw abortion (as if he even could), evangelical Christians have effectively given up their right to speak to moral issues in American life. Five decades of well-coordinated political action has programmed them to draw a line in the sand over issues about which the Bible says virtually nothing, even while turning a deaf ear to the cries of the less fortunate, the marginalized poor and the socially disadvantaged in our country (something Bible speaks about voluminously).

What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?