Another breath-takingly illogical letter in The Irish Times today, from one Andrew Doyle:
Sir, – It seems we are splitting hairs over the abortion question. Debating whether an entity is a “bunch of cells” or a human being with full rights, or what constitutes a threat to life or health is still missing the point.
The anti-abortion promoters are about imposing their will on others who do not share their views and that is the bottom line.
Ouch.
How can it possibly be "missing the point" to argue over whether the unborn child is a "human being with full rights" if those rights include the right not to have your life taken away from you-- a pretty basic right, one would think? Surely the personhood of the unborn child is the crucial point? Surely the inevitable corollary of having rights is that society may intervene to uphold those rights?
It's a bit like saying, "Let's not get bogged down over who owns the purse. The point is that you want to stop me from snatching it out of this lady's handbag. What the heck business is it of yours?"
I wholeheartedly agree with your observations on this, Maolsheachlann. This letter caught my eye this morning & I thought it was one of the sillier contributions to the debate thus far (& that's saying something). I knocked out a quick response letter to the IT - let's see if they print it!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a ridiculous letter it made me wonder is the letters editor of the Irish Times a secret pro-lifer and trying to saboatage the other side!!
ReplyDelete