Furiously Bri

I posted the following after taking an ethics class and thinking about the overturning of Roe v Wade. I have so many views in regard to the current political air especially regarding the nonsensical yet circular rhetoric behind the 2nd Amendment. Please read and discuss.

“Some things I picked up from my ethics class that funnily enough go very well into what’s going on right now. Autonomy is even used. I don’t post very long posts like this because I know people don’t read them, but this is truly important.

NOTE: The point of my ethics class was to learn the basics of different ways of thinking so we can better understand why people have certain views and be able to work together. These definitions are straight from my notes.

Autonomy: The ability that all rational persons have to make free decisions, to give themselves moral laws, and follow those moral laws.

Deontology: An ethical theory that says the most important concept in ethics is duty; outcomes do not determine right and wrong.

Consequentialism: An ethical theory that says the most important concepts in ethics are consequences; right and wrong depend on the outcomes.

Dogmatism: Being certain about any given idea, principle, or belief.

For dogmatism, a more in-depth definition is from dictionary.com: “Unfounded positiveness in matters of opinion; arrogant assertion of opinions as truths.” Meaning that you’re not willing to have any sort of conversation that may differ from your opinion because you’re too certain in the said opinion that you wouldn’t allow someone to challenge it.

Why did I pick these definitions? Because many people thinking pro-life seem to be, in my opinion, thinking in a deontological way. It is your moral duty to protect all life because all life is sacred, including babies. This belief in moral duty is so strong that it becomes dogmatic, and I can pretty much guarantee that those that aren’t willing to have the conversation about bodily autonomy or any other type of autonomy for that matter have already left my post or didn’t bother to read it in the first place.

The problem with deontology is that it works more for a black-and-white scenario, which our world has so few of. When it comes to abortion and autonomy, the government cannot govern this because the reasons for abortion are not black and white. Miscarriage’s medical term is spontaneous abortion. States like Missouri are outlawing abortions including miscarriages because you can’t discern whether or not the miscarriage was self-induced. People in Texas have already been arrested for having a miscarriage due to the heartbeat law. 

Abortions are needed for medical reasons, either for the baby, the parent, or both. The baby can begin forming without a brain, and with a dutiful mindset, you could say that the baby could still live even without one. We hardly keep anyone in that state of mind as an adult because we know in the end, they’re really just lifeless in their bed. If we do keep them alive, it’s because our emotional mindset is stronger than the logical one at that point in time.

Consequentialism in this case would ask: If the baby, who isn’t even a human yet (because 99% of abortions are not late-term: https://theconversation.com/less-than-1-of-abortions-take-place-in-the-third-trimester-heres-why-people-get-them-182580), one “life” is more costly than an abortion law that will cost so many more lives due to unsafe abortion and fatal pregnancies (which are more dangerous than a safe abortion: https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-ranks-worst-in-maternal-care-mortality-compared-with-10-other-developed-nations).

In this case, consequentialism would decide that the pregnancies needing termination would save more lives than outlawing abortion as a whole. 

People argue when someone says that the parents can always have another child that it’s a ruse to replace that baby. Do you say this to people with miscarriages that keep trying to have kids? Because I can guarantee that someone who needed a medical abortion would be just as hurt and insulted as someone who suffered from a miscarriage if you said that to them.

This overturning of Roe v Wade is going to affect medical privacy. The HIPPA rights aren’t going to be as effective, even outside of abortion. But in the case of abortion, it’s important for you to think outside the box and how many people who need an abortion you are now demonizing and criminalizing and honestly killing.

I’ll leave you with this: Autonomy is important because in this country we are supposed to have freedom. If we do not have freedom over our own bodies, how free are we, truly? 

If you don’t want to listen to a dumb college kid, maybe you should watch the video I put in the comments and tell me just how ethical Texas is after Roe v Wade was overturned.

If you read this whole post, thank you. If you thought about anything I said deeply and put any of it into consideration, thank you. This is so important.

Whether you agree or disagree, please keep the comments civil. or I will shut them off immediately.”