In remembrance of National Right To Life Day, celebrated every January 22nd on the annual anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, Roe vs. Wade (1973), and in honor of the tens thousands of protesters who annually drive to Washington, D.C., to march from the Washington Monument to the Supreme Court, lobby senators, and get themselves ignored by the media in favor of the eight or nine abortion-rights activists who manage to come out and get themselves interviewed on national television, it seemed only decent and proper to come up with a "thought for the day" of some kind before stepping on the bus for D.C. tomorrow morning. Accordingly, I've retrieved from my files the following quotation from Princeton professor, Robert P. George:
[Legal disclaimer: Dr. Robert P. George is George McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and earned his doctorate in philosophy of law at Oxford University. Just in case anyone is wondering, the foregoing statement by him is not intended to be taken at face value, but as a parody and reductio ad absurdum refutation of the fallacious reasoning employed pervasively by proponents of a "pro-choice" position favoring "abortion rights." I offer this explanation not to insult your intelligence, but only because I have learned to cover my bases: given our times, there is no telling who might mistakenly and foolishly think we're endorsing the killing of abortionists. We're not. We're pro-life!]I am personally opposed to killing abortionists. However, inasmuch as my personal opposition to this practice is rooted in sectarian (Catholic) religious belief in the sanctity of human life, I am unwilling to impose it on others who may, as a matter of conscience, take a different view. Of course, I am entirely in favor of policies aimed at removing the root causes of violence against abortionists. Indeed, I would go as far as supporting mandatory one-week waiting periods, and even non-judgmental counseling, for people who are contemplating the choice of killing an abortionist. I believe in policies that reduce the urgent need some people feel to kill abortionists while, at the same time, respecting the rights of conscience of my fellow citizens who believe that the killing of abortionists is sometimes a tragic necessity--not a good, but a lesser evil. In short, I am moderately "pro-choice."
Dear Dr. I thought you might be interested in these Culture War articles having to do with Dr. George.
ReplyDeleteAlthough they were controversial and led to captious exchanges amongst Catholic brethren, I think they are excellent in that they drill deep into the issues we all wrestle with as politically accommodating Catholics in these United States; well, I must confess - as if I need to - that I am not accommodating:)
For my own part, I think Dr. Jones is spot on.
http://www.culturewars.com/2010/Unity.htm
http://www.culturewars.com/2010/Manhattan.htm
Hello IANS. Thank you for the links. I have profited from these exchanges (Harrison/Ederer/Jones), as I have profited from your recommendation of Culture Wars in the past. I wish Jones weren't so prolix, but the time reading him is almost always well-spent in terms of broadening one's horizon in amazing ways.
ReplyDeleteKind regards, PP