OWNERSHIP OF THE HUMAN BODY

February 22, 2008 Blog

America and Slavery

I am probably opening the proverbial "can of worms" here, but I warn people on the opening page of this website that some things I write may not be considered politically correct.

I watched a film on public TV last night about slavery in America during colonial times. It would be difficult for anyone to watch that film without feeling sympathy for the plight of slaves.

Europeans are obviously sympathetic to the feelings of  "Indianer" and "Neger" (not politically correct terms, but Europeans don't seem to worry about that sort of thing).  When we lived in Austria, we often heard people slamming America for allowing slavery and for stealing the native Americans' land and confining them to reservations. The first time this happened, I didn't know how to respond but the next time, I was prepared. I let them go on with their harsh accusations as long as they wanted and then commented, "You are absolutely right -- except for one thing." They would of course want to know what that one thing was. I told them that the early settlers who took the Indians' land and confined them to reservations were mostly from Europe. A great majority of slave holders were European born, and to my knowledge, all of the slave traders were Europeans.

If they wanted to learn more, I would tell them that many wealthy Europeans also kept slaves. Most changed the subject, but those who still wanted to argue would be reminded of an incident that transpired while we worked in Linz, Austria. I would tell them that Harry Belefonte is quite popular in America, but Austrians threw him out of a night club because he was black. There was a sign on the door that stated, "Neger verboten!" The bouncer didn't recognize Harry and was just doing his job. That is what Nazi soldiers claimed, who arrested Jews and threw them into concentration camps. They were just following orders.

Getting back to America and slavery, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence, , "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Jefferson kept meticulous records. He owned 187 slaves and recent DNA evidence shows that one of his slaves, Sally Heming, gave birth to at least one of Jefferson's children. 

Having painted a pretty ugly picture of hypocrisy in both America and Europe, I now want to focus on another related topic.

Abortion

The basis for abortion is the same as for slavery. It is all about ownership of human beings.

I can already hear someone shouting, "Oh no! Abortion is different!" This is a normal reaction, because the people who defend abortion as one of those unalienable Rights (overlooking the mention of Creator and creation in the same sentence) also demand compensation for descendants of Native Americans and slaves. The former are allowed to operate casinos and the latter get the shortest month of the year as Black History Month.

Some define abortion as occurring only during certain stages of pregnancy, while others consider the purposeful termination of a pregnancy in any stage as an abortion. Some restrict the term to medical procedures, while others use it for any premature termination of pregnancy including miscarriages. The abortionist doesn't like that word and I can understand why. "Abort" is German for toilet. Abortionists prefer phrases like "pregnancy termination, family planning, or expulsion of an embryo or fetus."  The word "death" is avoided especially.

Even if the abortionist insists that he or she is not killing a human being, but only preventing one from emerging, the basic argument for abortions is human ownership. The woman is said to "own" her body and all that it contains. She should be free to do anything she wants with it. Because very few women perform abortions on themselves, and because men and women have equal rights, this must be interpreted to say, "anyone should be permitted to do anything to any person if granted permission."

Supposing this "right" is applied in other situations! Suicide and euthanasia would also be our personal right. How about shooting heroin? Does this right only pertain to our human bodies, or perhaps to animals or things that we own? A man was taken to court by the animal rights people because he shaved a design in the fur of his cat. The judge threw out the case because the accusers couldn't explain the difference between that act and shaving a poodle.

A Comparison of Slavery and Abortion

Slave owners recognized that slaves were human beings. Abortionists claim that they are only removing a fetus.

Slaves were considered assets. The child to be aborted is an unwanted liability.

Slaves had names. The aborted child remains unnamed.

Slave owners care for their slaves when sick or injured. The healthy unborn baby gets mutilated with medical instruments by a doctor who has taken the Hippocratic Oath.

The slave brings gain to his greedy master as long as he or she lives. The baby brings gain to greedy doctors when it dies.

The slave is given a humane burial. The dead baby is tossed in the garbage after all usable organs are removed.

Please correct me please, if I am wrong.