Law & Order's Abortion Episode - Is Pro-Life the New Gay?
Unable to watch Friday night's "ripped from the headlines" Law & Order episode about the murder of an abortionist in church, I thought I'd view it on the Internet tonight.
Unfortunately, I found NBC does not air full episodes of L&O. I'll have to see if past shows are available on cable t.v.
Meanwhile, pro-life reviews have been favorable, including comments on the post I wrote giving a heads up on the episode. Here's a sample why, a longer clip made available by NBC, where a post-birth partial birth abortion (yes, that's right) is detailed:
Comments from the L&O site:
moving TV I've ever seen. I don't feel you can justify the Dr's.
murder, you certainly can understand the emotions. I wish NBC would show FULL shows - not just highlights. I'd love to have the rest of my family."
am used to seeing pro-lifers marginalized and dismissed as narrow
minded religious zealots. This was one of the most fair-minded and
even-handed presentations of this critical and persistent legal and
moral issue."
great, thought-provoking episode. Anybody who watched this show
experienced new ideas and feelings about abortions, and specifically,
late term abortions. The scene that moved me the most was Detective Bernard's
statement about how his mother tried to terminate her pregnancy. Her
actions, like abortion, would have robbed him of his life, a life of a
good man & police officer. The answer is that there is no easy
answer. Thanks L&O, we have lots to think about!"
Pro-abort reviews most interested me. Did NBC throw them bones, too, as I expected? Apparently not so much. Wrote Kate Harding at the liberal rag Salon...
On Friday night's Law & Order,
the abortion debate was represented by 2 separate, yet equally
important, groups: The anti-choicers, who believe fetuses' rights trump
women's, and the pseudo-pro-choicers, who are conveniently persuaded to
agree with them by the end of the episode.
That sound? It's my head exploding.
Kind of like a late-term baby being aborted, Kate? Not quite. Read
Kate's review for descriptions of more surprising pro-life apologetics
in the show, even on minor rape:
What's up? In a town bent on stirring controversy, does Hollywood now think the pro-life view is in, hot - the new gay?
Or perhaps NBC is trying to recoup lost mainstream viewers?
Or most likely, since L&O's previous 2 episodes dealing with abortion slanted way left, this was its attempt at balance?
Whatever, I'll take it.
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I won't offer any spoilers. However, I think they did a really good job honoring both viewpoints. It was nice to see a show that didn't slant so much to one side that one's T.V. falls over.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
I find this argument that is made by pro-life advocates interesting.
"Her actions, like abortion , would have robbed him of his life, a life of a good man & police officer. The answer is that there is no easy answer. Thanks L&O, we have lots to think about!""
If you are a fertile female and you see a man, if you do not immediately attempt to have sex with that man at that point in time - you have just denied a potential life. You have just robbed a human being of life by refusing to create one by not being pregnant every waking moment of your fertile existence. So, let's see. Your average female loses the ability to reproduce around 50-ish (excluding the use of medical therapies or random freaks of nature). Calculating for a distribution of when your ovulation cycle comes on relative to your previous pregnancy , the probability of a miscarriage, the probability of twins (or higher), assuming the average woman will have two kids in her lifetime and not try for more, and finally delaying for 9 months: I get that your average woman will deny the life of 39 children at a minimum with the average number of "life denials" being 48 throughout a woman's lifetime.
How disgusting.
The "it could have been you" argument is the weakest argument out there.
Anyway, haven't seen the episode. Could be could good, might not be.
So you're equating a non-existing human life with an existing human life, interesting. I have heard arguments claiming the non-exceptionalism of human life vs animal or plant life, but I've never heard this twist on it.
I said the argument of denying the existence of a life because of what that person could be, in the quote I presented, is stupid because everyone denies the potential existence of life. I have denied the existence of 3 potential children since I just saw 3 woman walk by me and did not attempt to engage them in sex .
The potential life argument is stupid because everyone denies potential life. You believe it is morally wrong to terminate an organism, that has nothing to do with the potential life argument since both not creating that life and terminating that life both end potential future human that would result.