Santanu Roy said on AssamNet:
+ Dear Saurav:
+
+
+ But my own dilemma is related more to the issue of whether liberal values ought to
+give the unfettered right to parents (or mothers) to decide on whether to abort. If
+Samantha in Massachusetts decides to go for abortion because she thinks the baby
+will cram her style, affect her career or because she cannot afford it - and we
+strongly support her right to do so - then can we ethically turn to Mala (assuming
+its Mala who is deciding) in north Delhi who for similar economic reasons (can't
+afford dowry, don't want to reduce standard of living ...) wants to abort the foetus,
+and say - that's a crime, that's murder. The fact that Mala wants to abort only a
+female foetus may be tautological for its only the female baby which will lead to
+economic decline in her life (in her perspective).
+
santanu-da,
i do think it will pay to once again go back to first principles to
clear this dilemma, even though my first attempt did not yeild much.
the liberal position in this regard can be summarised by the
following -- that it emphasizes the need to increase personal
liberties *and* decrease the sway of moral authorities. in the
american context, it is not the right to abortion that is central to
the liberals, but the right to be free from a moral authority. can
we imagine a trenchant pro-choice position, if there was no
pro-life? the danger to personal liberty that a moral authority poses
to a woman in america is, in the eyes of a liberal, far greater than her
lack of choice in the matter otherwise.
in the indian context, the central issue again is not the right to abortion,
and the dilemma should not be cast as such. a woman, in a
patriarchal system has many more and far greater dangers to personal
liberty. a woman who willingly aborts a female fetus as a result of
the social conditions actually is not exercising her choice, but
succumbing to a moral system. note that she solves her personal
moral questions by just accepting the moral authority of the system
(which says it is acceptable to abort the fetus). is she exercising
her right to choose the moral system? maybe. but what if she decides to
take it on herself to solve the moral issue? if she decides she cannot
morally face the consequences of aborting a fetus personally, she is left
with far fewer personal choices in her life -- as a result of dowry, reduced
standard of living etc. therefore, for a liberal, it is probably more
important to emancipate and empower her, so that she can have a
choice when the time comes as you have already mentioned.
the issue is actually one of personal liberty, and the right to
abortion is just one of many that impacts it. both play out
differently in the two contexts.
do you think this solves the dilemma?
saurav
