Long tirade - by Jon

So I finished class today and made my way to the library. I figured I’d take the scenic, outdoor route because it’s so damn nice out for late March (sarcasm), and I happened upon a gathering in the center of campus positioned strategically along the main path with the attempt at drawing attention from passer-by’s. Actually, I would be shocked if anyone (aside for maybe a blind person) could have missed it, especially since there were huge orange signs communing ‘Warning: Genocide Pictures Ahead’.
Ok, so here is your opportunity to retrofit a plausible reason and/or point to such a display (World War 2 exhibit, racial acceptance, Jew awareness week, etc). I bet you didn’t guess abortion.

The Pro-life group has returned once again to the University with the mission of convincing people that abortion is wrong and equivalent to genocide. To aid in stressing their point they have assembled a collection of grotesque and rather disturbing poster-photography of aborted embryos, dead infants, and mass death pits/hangings/gas-chambered Jews during WW2. The proponents of the display loiter amongst the disturbing media handing out brochures and calling out to people as they pass. Interestingly, there is a metal fence (almost chest high) demarcating them from the public. I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of conflict emerges from such an emotionally charged issue. I love any sort of controversy, so naturally I get involved in the discussion.

“Do you support abortion?” A pro-life advocate asks.
“Yes,” I respond.
“Well, do you support genocide?”
Immediately I understand where this is going, but I play along, “No.” Who in their right mind would support (or at least publicly announce they support) genocide?
“Then how can you reconcile abortion? By aborting children you are discriminating based wholly on age.”

I felt smacked with stupid. I suppose this organization is unfamiliar with the ‘false analogy’. I tried hard (maybe a reader can point this out to me), but I was unable to see their point of view, at least from a rational perspective. In my view, I cannot honestly equate genocide with abortion (although babies are damn annoying…). It’s utterly absurd. There are a plethora of other methods the Pro-life advocates could have implemented to get their point across. Unfortunately, instead they settled on fear-mongering and the notion that abortion is somehow sinful or inhuman. It’s a popular cultural reflex to associate any action with the Nazi’s as the epitome of evil. I saw this as inaccurate, a cheap-shot.

Point aside, I found it incredibly interesting how some people vociferously argued their position. Unfortunately, with an issue like abortion, you cannot argue for truth. Abortion is a value judgment and has no absolute truth value to it. There is no evidence that one can present that would sway the argument one way or the other. There is no scientific test one can perform, or equation to plug numbers into where a definite right answer springs forth. I accept abortion because I have no reason not too. I hold no superstitious notions of anything resembling a soul (or an afterlife for that matter), so I (perhaps coldly) associate a 2-4 week old embryo as a conglomerate of cells with potential. The campus Pro-life group has religious underpinnings so it becomes quite obvious why they hold the position they do.

Wow this post is getting long. To wrap up (maybe there will be a part 2), my point is that the individuals position on abortion is a belief, a value judgment, and is entirely up to that person to reconcile with, much like religion. I am opposed to anyone trying to force their beliefs on anyone else (whether religion or whatever) solely for the purpose of belief. I follow the evidence and only support the positions that can be substantiated; anything else is, in my view, a waste of time.