Dear Editor,
In his letter of March 5, 2013, Jason Maddon asserts that a woman's "right to choose" is based on her rights to freedom, security and privacy. The term is a dubious euphemism for a "right to abortion", as if women who keep their pregnancies are not also making a choice.
The writer also alludes to the right to life as included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It should be clear that the right of a pregnant woman to freedom and privacy are not absolute and cannot be equal to the right to life of her unborn child. One of these rights must take precedence. The prioritisation of these rights is a matter of one's worldview, and all laws and public policy are based on some world view. They do not arise out of a vacuum.
If one holds a secular world view with the implication of no transcendence and man being mere matter, not only will aborting the inconvenient foetus be justifiable, but also the killing of the inconvenient infant. Indeed prominent ethicists like Peter Singer assert that infanticide is ethical on the same grounds as abortion.
In February 2012, Alberto Giublini and Francesca Minerva advocated for "after-birth abortion" in the Journal of Medical Ethics. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has existed for almost three decades, yet millions of female babies are being selectively aborted. The forced, one child policy in China and the desire of couples for male offspring, means a death sentence for girls in the womb. The dowry system in India similarly makes a female baby a "curse" for many women, so once identified by Ultrasonography, females are aborted. Those who escape may still be killed after birth. If challenged, the Indian lady could no doubt assert her rights to freedom, security and privacy. I would appeal to advocates for women's rights to demand that CEDAW be implemented to protect the most fundamental of all rights at all stages of a woman's life. Let us have equal rights for unborn women!
Dr Doreen Brady-West
drbradywest@gmail.com
Equal rights for the unborn
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In his letter of March 5, 2013, Jason Maddon asserts that a woman's "right to choose" is based on her rights to freedom, security and privacy. The term is a dubious euphemism for a "right to abortion", as if women who keep their pregnancies are not also making a choice.
The writer also alludes to the right to life as included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It should be clear that the right of a pregnant woman to freedom and privacy are not absolute and cannot be equal to the right to life of her unborn child. One of these rights must take precedence. The prioritisation of these rights is a matter of one's worldview, and all laws and public policy are based on some world view. They do not arise out of a vacuum.
If one holds a secular world view with the implication of no transcendence and man being mere matter, not only will aborting the inconvenient foetus be justifiable, but also the killing of the inconvenient infant. Indeed prominent ethicists like Peter Singer assert that infanticide is ethical on the same grounds as abortion.
In February 2012, Alberto Giublini and Francesca Minerva advocated for "after-birth abortion" in the Journal of Medical Ethics. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has existed for almost three decades, yet millions of female babies are being selectively aborted. The forced, one child policy in China and the desire of couples for male offspring, means a death sentence for girls in the womb. The dowry system in India similarly makes a female baby a "curse" for many women, so once identified by Ultrasonography, females are aborted. Those who escape may still be killed after birth. If challenged, the Indian lady could no doubt assert her rights to freedom, security and privacy. I would appeal to advocates for women's rights to demand that CEDAW be implemented to protect the most fundamental of all rights at all stages of a woman's life. Let us have equal rights for unborn women!
Dr Doreen Brady-West
drbradywest@gmail.com
Equal rights for the unborn
-->