Life Links 1/3/08

Scott Swenson at the RH Reality Check Blog believes Mike Huckabee doesn't think all people have intrinsic value because Huckabee is opposed to abortion, is opposed to same sex marriage and favors abstinence education. One would hope Swenson would actually learn the meaning of intrinsic before making such a silly claim.

Note to Scott, believing all human beings have intrinsic value doesn't mean one has to believe it should be legal to kill unborn human beings, favor allowing individuals of the same sex to marry or teaching sex-ed in public schools.


Just Another Alias discusses her thoughts a year after her abortion.


Jill at Feministe tries to defend her reasoning that if abortion is made illegal then there will be no legal argument to prevent laws against forced abortions. The problems with her argument are many. First, it fails to note that if the unborn are granted the right to life (which is what prolifers want in the long run) then that would be a strong legal argument against forced abortions since killing them by forced abortion would violate their right to life. Second, it assumes the entire right to privacy would be overturned if the courts overturn the right to legal abortion. Jill assumes the entire right to privacy would be "destroy(ed)" instead of the justices merely ruling that killing your unborn child isn't part of the right to privacy. Jill also seems unaware that in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court changed their reasoning for the justification of legal abortion by using arguments for "liberty" and discarding Blackmun's "privacy" reasoning and trimester framework. Another problem I see with her reasoning is: Is there any legal argument to stop forced abortions after viability? If abortions are illegal after viability (as pro-choicers claim) then wouldn't Jill's position entail there aren't any legal arguments against forced abortion after viability?


Two men have been arrested for setting an abortion clinic in New Mexico on fire. The article notes the possible motive:

According to a criminal complaint, Baca's roommate told authorities that Baca allegedly confessed to setting the fire because his former girlfriend was scheduled to have an abortion at the clinic.

If this is the case and the suspects aren't involved in the prolife movement but merely a young man who didn't want his former girlfriend to have an abortion and his friend, will pro-choice bloggers still act like this violence is because of the prolife movement?