I call upon You, Lord, God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob and Israel, You who are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who, through the abundance of your mercy, was well-pleased towards us so that we may know You, who made heaven and earth, who rules over all, You who are the one and the true God, above whom there is no other God; You who, by our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, give to every one who reads this writing to know You, that You alone are God, to be strengthened in You, and to avoid every heretical and godless and impious teaching.

St Irenaeus of Lyons, Against the Heresies 3:6:4


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Recent Election, Human Rights, and Pro-Abortion Rhetoric



One wonders how many of this year’s mid-term election races were won, based on the claim that the prolife candidate’s position was contrary to women’s rights, because he or she took a position against elective abortion on demand.
Sociopaths notwithstanding, we all agree that adult human beings enjoy an equal share in equal rights, which we commonly call human rights. What, though, is that property we all share that grounds our human rights?
Is it function, size, development, race, or gender that grounds human rights? No, because these criteria sometimes vary radically among people, while our claim to rights does not. Human rights do not come in degrees. Our rights are based on what we are, not what we can do.
That universal property which grounds human rights is the human nature. Human nature is not something that develops over time. Instead it’s a necessary precondition for all of our subsequent development. Therefore, human nature is prior to human development.
The continuum of human development begins at fertilization and continues to natural death. All humans, from conception onward, have an equal share in human rights, especially the right to life. Women's rights are what they are because of their more fundamental basis in human rights.
Consequently, the rhetoric that the prolife candidate or vote is one against women’s rights is absurd. Regardless of the fact that approximately half of all abortions take a tiny female’s life, women’s rights presuppose human rights, which all enjoy—almost all.  

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