Here is a follow-up thought. It is not a scary thought that someone would exert their free choice due to belief this will reduce their own impact on the earth...it is however scary to think forced abortion or forced sterilization are solutions to environmental problems. In china there are currently reports of forced abortion as a means to keep populations low among certain people and there was once compulsory sterilization in India, all occurring among people who had no say or freedom of choice in many ways because of poverty and prejudice (read A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - fiction but reflective of this history).
> I must say that I am very disturbed by both posts below. I know this is > Ecolog and not an abortion debate forum, but to me the posts indicate > that the woman in question did something "wrong" by exercising her choice > to terminate her pregnancy. Women all over the world make this decision > for a variety of reasons. Further, I would argue that choosing to do so > due to her deeply held environmental values is one of the more well > thought out reasons for terminating a pregnancy that I have heard. > Concern for the environment is hardly "a flippant justification for > abortion", in my opinion. Especially considering the fact that the woman > had taken active measures to prevent a pregnancy in the first place. > > Marie Wilson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I completely agree with Laura. > The fact that this woman had an abortion > to reduce her carbon footprint is quite scary. I think her choice to, > after this occurrence, search out a doctor to perform a sterility > procedure to definitively prevent any future pregnancies was a very good > choice to perpetuate her interesting but understandable desire to help > reduce her carbon footprint. But, I do not think reducing your carbon > footprint should be a flippant justification for abortion. When you start > putting "Being Green" and "Being Eco" above human life, the line gets > really fuzzy. > > >> While a childfree lifestyle may be a valid and important ethical choice >> (though probably a freedom for only a portion of the female population >> in >> this world), the woman in the article that started this discussion chose >> to >> terminate a pregnancy using the save the planet rationale (as I >> recall). Using "saving the planet" as an incentive or rationale to >> terminate a pregnancy is ethically and morally scary path. Furthermore, >> more could be accomplished by educating people, providing contraception >> and >> changing cultural practices in developing nations than terminating >> pregnancies in nations where birth control is for the most part a >> broadly >> accepted and relatively easy practice. > > > > > "Never > attribute > to > malice > that > which > can > be > adequately > explained > by > stupidity" > (Hanlon's razor) > >
