Tuesday, March 14, 2006

A certain logic

This letter was in the Star Tribune on Sunday.
No abortion exceptions

Several of your readers have objected to South Dakota's recently passed abortion law on the basis there is no exception for rape or incest. I have two questions for those readers:

• If a man were convicted of murder, would you approve of executing his child?

• If a man robbed a bank, would you approve of putting his child in prison?

The answer to both questions should be no -- and we should not kill unborn children because their fathers are guilty of rape or incest.

HAP CORBETT, STAPLES, MINN.

Spotty will give you a moment to stop hyperventilating. Okay? Ready to go on? Spotty says this is a perfectly logical abortion position. Now you’re really hyperventilating!

Ol’ Hap has hit on the fatal weakness in the usual abortion opponent’s position – including that of TWedge (that’s Tim Pawlenty for the new reader). That is, if you really think you’re protecting sacred human life by prohibiting abortion, you can’t really visit the sins of the father on the child.

If you permit exceptions for rape and incest, it is an admission that the real goal here is to punish the woman for engaging in consensual sex. The punishment is forced childbearing. It differs in degree, but not in essential kind, from the Old Testament edict that non-virgin brides should be stoned.

Tags: does not allow exceptions

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