Here, Here Leanne. You articulated all I wished to say but couldn't. Tania midwifery student ----- Original Message ----- From: "Leanne Veitch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 12:07 PM Subject: [ozmidwifery] Vegan and pro-choice (was abortion etc)
> Abby and Toby wrote: > > > >>Vegetarianism and abortion, I find that incredibly ridiculous! > > > > I just can't get this comment out of my head. It is so > > ridiculous...........so ridiculous that some women don't eat meat > > because they don't want to harm or kill an animal, yet they will > > willfully, and by choice, harm and kill their unborn baby. I find this > > incredibly ridiculous. > > As a pro-choice vegan, I actually find that quite offensive. > > One could argue (as you've raised the issue), it is equally (if not > more) ridiculous to claim to be 'pro-life' yet to kill intelligent, > sentient animals needlessly for your pleasure because you happen to like > the taste of their dead bodies. Being a selectively 'pro-life' omnivore > is more than a little hypocritical! Or do some lives matter more than > others? And who are we to judge? > > No-one in Western countries *needs* to consume animal flesh, so the > slaughter and cruelty involved in the animal flesh industries is > absolutely needless (I do not believe the same of third world countries, > where food resources may be scarce and there may be absolute need to > consume animal flesh, however). > > Cruelty and animal abuse for no valid reason whatsoever can never be > justified logically, whereas legal abortion certainly can be on numerous > grounds (including the social and mental welfare of the woman, the > specific situation involving her pregnancy, disabled or deformed > fetuses, the avoidance of illegal, unsafe abortion etc.) > > It should also be pointed out that in Australia, abortion is only legal > several weeks before a fetus is medically 'viable'. We are not talking > about killing sentient, viable children. We are talking about a > procedure much more akin to the removal of unwanted/unviable flesh from > a woman's body, to assess it from a purely medical point of view. > > Any genuine argument against abortion of non-viable fetuses must > invariably come from a religious / personal ethics point of view, and is > simply not logical. Fortunately, we do not live in a society where the > ethics/religious beliefs of a small percentage of Australians dictate > the lives of the majority. Women who do not support abortion can simply > choose not to have one. But they do not have the right to pass judgement > on other women and their rights any more than I, as a vegan, have the > right to force the omnivorous majority not to eat animal flesh. > > Being pro-choice is a compassionate decision - we place the needs of > women above the needs of an unborn fetus that is, scientifically and > literally speaking, nowhere near as developed as the average pig going > to slaughter. Being vegan and pro-choice, I am showing compassion and > non-judgement for both women and animals. Being omnivorous and fiercely > 'pro-life' is, arguably, being compassionate to neither. > > You have every right to be pro-choice, but you do not have the right to > make decisions for other women, nor do you have the right to pass > judgement on women who might have perfectly valid reasons for termination. > > I do not wish to turn this issue into a huge debate or flame-war, so I > will end my post on the note that we all have different beliefs, we all > have different views, and we all have different ethics. That is what > being part of the Australian community is about. But perhaps if we all > showed a little more tolerance for ideas that differ from our own, > instead of branding them as 'ridiculous' and trying to shove our own > viewpoint down other people's necks, we'd all get along a great deal > better. Respect for life - *all* life - must begin with respect for > other people and their autonomy. > > Should anyone wish to continue this discussion, please feel free to > email me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] so that we show the courtesy of not > bombarding the rest of the list (who may not be interested in this > off-topic issue) with emails. > > Leanne. > > > > > Abby > > > > > > > > -- > Leanne Veitch Melbourne Product Centre > Technical Writer Level 1 594 Elizabeth Street > Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd. Melbourne VIC 3000 > ABN: 98 078 321 589 P O Box 639 > T: +61 3 9349 5055 Carlton South VIC 3053 > F: +61 3 9349 5088 Australia > E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.agent-software.com > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
