Enda is Here

Curia Poll

I just did a political poll by David Farrar's political polling company Curia.

The young lady who I talked to was polite enough, but hardly clear or professional (I had to clarify a number of things). What interested me was that they asked no demographic questions, which makes me think their poll is not going to be representative.

Priceless

Apparently if you have reservations about abortion you are a fundamentalist

This is what you would think from the rhetoric coming from the NZ left. For examples see: NRT an Chris Trotter.

I do not think that there are many people who think that it is a Good Thing that there are abortions, or that anyone disputes that it is unfortunate that any woman is put in a position that leads her to having an abortion.

However, it is simply a straw man and ad hominem argument to say that all people who oppose abortion (or even, have reservations) are fundamentalists. It is simply not true. It may be true that most people who think that abortion is bad do so from religious grounds, but that does not mean they are fundamentalists. It is illogical, also, to be pro-choice simply because fundamentalists are pro-life or to reject pro-life views because they are held by fundamentalists.

The argument for or against abortion should be argued on its own merits. Therefore, we don't need to discuss feminism, marxism or any other ism (pro-lifers!). On that same note, neither do we need to discuss the religious motivations behind opposition to abortion (pro-choicers!).

It seems to me that if we really want to have a decent debate on abortion, which the recent High Court decision affords us, then we need to discuss a number of points:

• At what point is spontaneous termination of embryos and foetuses likely?
• At what point can embryos and foetuses feel pain?
• Is aborting a foetus likely to be more detrimental to the health (mental or otherwise) of a woman than giving birth to it?
• What alternatives are there to abortion, and what are the obstacles to those being better pro-choice alternatives than abortion (in the sense of being emancipatory for women)?
• If it was shown conclusively, somehow, that abortion after a certain period was killing a human life or merely preventing possible life from emerging, would we change our view?

The final question, I think, is key to moving forward in the debate because if it is established that no one is arguing for the killing of an actual human life and that no one is advocating that we protect the rights of something which has more chance of being spontaneously terminated than being aborted over and against the rights of a woman, then perhaps there can be some accommodation on both sides.

Just as I find the mysogyny of many on the Right disturbing, so too I find the callous disregard of many on the Left for the possibility that they may be (inadvertently) advocating what is essentially murder disturbing. The rights of women are important, and no one should be quick to dismiss them, but they need to be balanced with consideration for the rights of the emerging human life that depends on them for everything.


I write this knowing that I am going to be a Dad in December, and feeling that the idea of aborting our emerging son or daughter to be too horrid to contemplate. However, I also recognise that this pregnancy was planned and that the child will be born into a loving family with the means to support it. Its parents both have Honours Degrees, one a Masters, and they own their own home. We are very fortunate.

Walking Waltham: Mark 14:7

My YouTube debut. A reflection on Mark 14:7 as I walk around the community where my church is situated.

Chris Trotter on National

"Why vote for a fake Labour Government when you could just as easily re-elect the real thing?"
-Chris Trotter on National

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