Problems Solutions and Trade Offs II

Most of my columns are meant to expose the hypocrisy of self-described liberals who have taken over our institutions of higher learning. However, on some occasions, I attempt to address misguided thinking among self-described conservatives. An example is my recent column “Romney and the Rapist,” which was described by many readers as either “weird” or “convoluted” or both. Those descriptions are indeed accurate and reflect the intention behind the controversial essay. It was my intention to write a column that would identify absurd arguments as a means of drawing out the flawed reasoning of those who would support Romney’s proposed rape exception to a law banning abortion. I elaborate on each flaw below:

1. Viability and Humanity. Many of my readers were upset by my suggestion that the idea of killing the innocent product of rape because it reminded the victim of rape could also be used to justify killing an innocent man who bore a physical resemblance to the rapist. Readers stated that the “obvious” difference was that the product of rape was attached to the woman and dependent upon her for survival (whereas the rapist’s double was unattached to the victim). That is nothing more than a restatement of the viability argument used to deny the humanity of the unborn and, therefore, provide abortion on demand, not just in instances of rape. It is wholly irrelevant to the issue of whether the product of rape is an innocent human being. Once again, those who seek to justify the rape exception undermine the initial rule against abortion, without which no exception could exist. That rule is predicated upon the simple principle that killing innocent human beings is wrong. Once we abandon the rule and fashion an exception we enter dangerous territory.

Those who raise the issue of viability must remain focused of the issue of innocence. That will lead to the correct conclusion that killing someone to assuage the painful memory of rape is only justifiable if that person is also responsible for the rape. Once again, my position is simple: execute the guilty perpetrator of rape, not the innocent product of rape. Although both are human beings, regardless of “viability,” one is guilty and the other is innocent. No other distinction matters.

2. Consent and Punishments. Some readers responded by saying that the rule against abortion was justified only if the woman consented to the sex and that an exception is justified only because she did not. Such reasoning is both dangerous and irrelevant to the central issue in the abortion debate.