The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Commentary December 7, 2007

More Letters to the Editors: Another Take on Abortion Ethics

To the Editors:


“The Ethical Obie” dramatically throws off the so-called “delicate balance” of the ethics of abortion in the last three paragraphs of his November 30 column by confusing the very issues he raises. There is no difference between supporting “the rights of women: the right to privacy, the right to control their own bodies and the right of equal treatment,” as Nolan so generously permits us in the last lines of his anti-abortion rant, and abortion rights.  Perhaps he imagines that abortion is simply a theoretical issue for philosophers to grapple with, as suggested by his comparison between abortion ethics and pondering the existence of God. But promoting “the awareness of choice” isn’t enough — we have to take real action for real women. 

Helping fund abortions for women who would otherwise be unable to afford them is not a crass endorsement of death, nor is it “direct murder.” It is a way of furthering our support of the right to choose by supporting the difficult choice certain women ultimately make.

 

Amanda Shubert

College sophomore


 
 
   

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