Reproductive Rights

A collection of 76 posts

nominalism

IVF ruling: When courts skip critical thinking

The recent IVF ruling shows scant regard for some rudimentary philosophizing we can do. The Justice needs some critical thinking lessons.

abortion

Kate Cox and the Texas abortion debacle

A Texas woman has been denied an abortion by the Texas State Supreme Court, even though the pregnancy was not viable and it threatened her health.

News Brief

Supreme Court declines fetal personhood case

Personhood is a notoriously tricky philosophical term to define, let alone argue about in court. Indeed, the argument that a fertilized human egg has personhood is an incredibly difficult claim to establish. Nonetheless, it is an argument that anti-choicers have been desperate to see debated within the hallowed confines of

COVID crisis

Women are livestock

The Supreme Court has now made it clear. Women have the same rights as farm animals. If a cow is impregnated by a bull, does she have a right to say whether she should carry the fetus to term? Of course not! The farmer who owns her, and has invested

COVID crisis

Could a SCOTUS Roe v. Wade reversal really help the Democrats?

Last night, a Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) draft opinion was leaked, showing they have voted to overturn the 50-year legal precedent of Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that established the right to abortion. Justice Samuel Alito wrote a draft, which was circulated in February, and was

Catholic Church

The Catholic condom conundrum

Conundrum: (noun) A confusing and difficult problem or question. You’re in love. You get married. But you don’t want kids…at least not for awhile. Maybe later. Or maybe not at all. But you definitely do not want kids now. You and your spouse are devout Catholics, so

COVID crisis

I Won't Call the "Pro-Life" Movement "Pro-Life" Anymore: They Are Anti-Choice

Why, as I look out on the sea of signs at today’s the March for Life, do I see nothing about maternity leave, much less paternity leave? Why aren’t expansive parental leave policies front and center on every pro-life website, and on the lips of every pro-life politician?

COVID crisis

Texas: "The Pro-Life Movement Is Winning"

My friend and blogger (Smilodon's Retreat) Kevin McCarthy lives in Texas. Texas is involved in a legal sh!tshow. Things are not looking good there in terms of women's and reproductive rights. Here, Kevin is nailing his various comments on Facebook to various GOPers. To which

COVID crisis

Open Satan Statue Season in Greene's Georgia

Majorie Taylor Greene is never far away from controversy, never far from rank hypocrisy, utter stupidity and vile immorality. No wonder some of the commenters here like her. Another embarrassing video has emerged whereby she would not demand that a hypothetical statue of Hitler or Satan be taken down. They

Church

Religion's Talons Grip from Birth to Death

Bert recently contributed a piece the other day discussing how religion can get its grasping talons to exert their painful pressure on adherents lives from birth to death. Juniper, in the comment thread, had this set of personal accounts to add to Bert's piece, reposted with kind permission:

Aquinas

Actuality, Abortion and the SCOTUS

Here is a guest piece from author Gunther Laird, who recently wrote The Unnecessary Science: A Critical Analysis of Natural Law Theory (UK), which I edited and consulted on. Please grab a copy! This piece is particularly pertinent given what is going on in the Supreme Court right now.  Actuality

channel - politics blue

Quote of the Day: Republicans and the Economy

I had a rant about the Republicans earlier and there were some interesting comments on the thread worth dwelling on. Here are a few. These are from (((J_Enigma32))): And they don't even represent monied interests well, because what the Republicans are doing is utterly unsustainable. Their economic

COVID crisis

Responding to Wilcox #5: When Is a Human a Human Being?

This is the fifth piece in series debating Clinton Wilcox at the Life Training Institute (a pro-life organisation) with the following chronology: JP: Abortion: The Human/Human Being Distinction CW: About the Alleged Human/Human Being Distinction CW: About the Alleged Human/Human Being Distinction, Part 2 JP: Pro-Life Debate:

COVID crisis

The Enlightenment and Conflicting Rights

In a post that covered a number of things, John Crawford, who normally comments here in protection of gun advocacy, a sort of faux-libertarianism and other positions, commented as follows: So, what is the heritage of our belief in the sanctity of life, that you support abortion? What is the

COVID crisis

Responding to Wilcox #4: Eggs & Chickens, Acorns & Oaks, Embryos & Humans

This is the fourth piece in series debating Clinton Wilcox at the Life Training Institute (a pro-life organisation) with the following chronology: JP: Abortion: The Human/Human Being Distinction CW: About the Alleged Human/Human Being Distinction CW: About the Alleged Human/Human Being Distinction, Part 2 JP: Pro-Life Debate:

COVID crisis

Responding to Wilcox #3: Human, Humans, Human Beings, the Sorites Paradox & Identity

Today, again, I am continuing my rebuttals of Clinton Wilcox over at Life Training Institute, a pro-life organisation, after he tackled a post I wrote concerning human/human being distinction. My original piece was here, his two pieces here and here, and so far my two rejoinders here and here.

abstracts

Responding to Wilcox #2: "An Embryo Is an Innocent Human Being"

To continue the rejoinder to Clinton Wilcox over at the Life Training Institute, who took issue with one of my posts looking at the pro-life/pro-choice debate concerning abortion. I responded to the initial part of his first piece here. Today, I will look at his comments with regard to

COVID crisis

Personhood vs Bodily Autonomy - the Central Arguments of Pro-Life Advocacy

Anthrotheist made a strong point on another thread concerning what the central argument should be in the abortion debate: The abortion debate isn't about personhood or whether or not a nonviable fetus is a human being. That angle is purely a red herring introduced by the pro-life movement

COVID crisis

Pro-Life Debate: Answering Criticisms on the Human/Human Being Distinction

Some time ago, I wrote a few pieces on the definitions of human and human being as pertaining to the pro-life/pro-choice/abortion debate: * Abortion: The Human/Human Being Distinction In my piece, I was taking to task a set of comments from a Mark Bradshaw here, an avowedly pro-life

Coronavirus

Pro-Life, Anti-Lockdown

Most of you will guess where this is going because you will already have spotted this contradiction. Throughout the States over the last few weeks, we have had protestors who have been protesting the way that their states (under federal guidance) have been restricting their lives. Their lives have been

Alabama

Coronavirus: Judge Rules Alabama Can't Block Abortions; Poland Seeks to Tighten

Coronavirus is a potential smokescreen to getting all sorts of things done or not done. Abortion is of particular target in the context of American jurisprudence. Alabama has certainly been in the headlines: A federal judge has ruled that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state’s response

Coronavirus

Republicans Tried to Camouflage Abortion Regulation within Coronavirus Bill

Crafty beggars. And pretty disingenuous. This leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Meant to post this some days back. This is from Vice: As lawmakers neared a deal on a coronavirus rescue package that would include paid sick leave and free virus testing, a few roadblocks emerged. Among them:

COVID crisis

Abortion: The Human/Human Being Distinction

Every abortion kills an innocent human being.... Biology shows that a "ZEF" (Zygote, Embryo, Fetus - the three distinct prenatal developmental stages) is, in fact, a distinct, unique and individual human being.... The issue at hand is when we are considered human beings. That question can be answered

COVID crisis

Abortion: GOP Virginia Candidate - Ankle Bracelets for Pregnant Women

Yup. It's true. Just when you thought they couldn't get more insane... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Njp_RhKwqg Rewire News reported: A Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, a hotly contested chamber in next month’s state elections, compared gun control to

AHA

Abortion Access Is a Religious Freedom Issue, Say Humanists

From the American Humanist Association: Leaders at the American Humanist Association were disappointed to learn that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the challenge to abortion access in Louisiana, as announced this morning. “This is just one manifestation of the extremism present in the federal judiciary,” explained Sunil Panikkath,