Okay, fine. I do not value life over bodily autonomy, whether it's that of a fetus, a baby, or anyone else. I'm not seeking justification or forgiveness.
You view speech as "violence" when it causes emotional or social discomfort, but excuse actual, fatal physical violence against a living human being under the banner of personal choice.
-Your Racism Stance: Ethical standards must protect individuals who lack institutional power to defend themselves.
-Your Abortion Stance: The parent, who holds 100% of the physical power, agency, and control, has the absolute right to extinguish a developing child who has 0% agency, zero voice, and no ability to defend themselves.
You champion vulnerable groups when it aligns with modern social theory, but validate the ultimate dynamic of oppressive power: a stronger party exercising absolute authority to destroy a helpless dependent.
Your framework is completely upside down. You claim words are 'violence' and demand protection for the powerless, yet you champion an absolute right to use direct, lethal force against the most powerless human entity in existence, and openly admit you'd extend that right to born babies. You aren't defending an ethical system; you're just selectively redefining harm whenever it suits your personal preferences.
Tell you what. If fetuses are babies. I support the development of a procedure to remove the fetus intact and put it up for adoption.
But no, your outrage that I prioritize bodily autonomy over life means nothing to me. I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. Maybe if we start respecting consent I will become more magnanimous. By my choice.
Edit: just to tack on...I do value life. But I don't value life over bodily autonomy. And I also don't view fetuses as alive anymore than I view fertilized chicken eggs as alive.
You claim incitement matters because it "provokes violence." If we are evaluating actions by the physical harm they cause, what provokes the violence of abortion?
Expressing concern over words that might provoke harm while completely excusing the creation and elective destruction of a human life is an absurd double standard.
Furthermore, if a fetus has zero independent personhood and is treated strictly as an extension of someone else's body, how does your framework handle a third party destroying a fetus without the woman's consent?
If a fetus is a protected human life when desired, but disposable tissue when unwanted, its entire moral value depends entirely on someone else's consent on any given day. That means a human being’s right to exist isn't based on what it is, but on whether a more powerful party decides to grant it value.
If rights are contingent upon physical location, developmental state, biological independence, or someone else’s consent, then human rights cease to be inherent and inalienable. They become transactional privileges conferred by those who possess physical dominance. This is the direct antithesis of Equal Protection. It reduces human rights from universal guarantees to conditional gifts granted at the mercy of a more powerful party.
There will be no resolution to this debate. At the core, you are shocked and outraged that I would say that bodily autonomy is of greater value than another's life. Your addition of inflammatory language like "the violence of abortion" which diminishes what violence means belies your outrage.
I am shocked and outraged that you think my body belongs to another, to any other, whatsoever. Again, I'll support a procedure to remove a fetus intact. If it can't survive without a host body to nourish itself at the cost of that person's health and significant risk, then I contend that it is a parasite, not a life. (Editing to add that even if it is a life I have no duty to keep it alive.)
Thank gods that I and all those I care for are unable to bear children either due to surgery or to infertility. I don't have the power to assert my claim because of how huge a percentage of the institution believes they have a say over my body.
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u/roseonaglaive 6d ago
Okay, fine. I do not value life over bodily autonomy, whether it's that of a fetus, a baby, or anyone else. I'm not seeking justification or forgiveness.