David Galinsky
                                        Health


          DOES ABORTION SANCTION EVIL?
          By Joseph Kellard from Capitalism Magazine/Feb.98

     This interesting article written by Joseph Kellard is a pro-choice article that
examines the issue of abortion from a moral perspective. He comments on the opinions of
Christian Conservatives and compares their thinking to Adolph Hitler’s feelings on
abortion. Kellard points out the irony of anti-abortionists when they say that “all life is
precious”, when they actually discount the life of the pregnant woman.
     Conservative syndicated columnist, Cal Thomas is quoted as saying that
“abortion’s legalization is a goose-step toward Nazi concentration camps.” He said that
pro-abortionists are creating a “culture of death”, much like the Nazis did. He goes so far
as blaming the violent acts of criminals on people who support abortion. Other
conservative anti-abortionists call the legalization of abortion “the American Holocaust.”
     Kellard quoted Adolph Hitler in Mein Kampf, as saying “I put an end to the idea
that a woman’s body belongs to her...Nazi ideals demand that the practice of abortion
shall be exterminated with a strong hand.” Hitler sentenced Aryan women who had
abortions to hard labor after the first offense, and to death after the second offense.
Kellard goes on to say that Conservative Christian anti-abortionists have similar beliefs to
Adolph Hitler. He actually feels that in some ways Hitler was more lenient because some
anti-abortionists believe that a woman should be executed after her first abortion, not her
second!
     Kellard believes that Hitler and anti-abortionists both deny individual autonomy
and “render people submissive”. He goes on to criticize the idea that “all life is precious”,
because in fact the woman’s life is not considered as important as the embryo or fetus.
This makes a woman no more important than a ‘farm cow’, who is demanded to breed
whenever she gets pregnant. This is the way Nazi youth were trained.
     Finally, Kellard comments on the anti-abortionist’s idea of the legalization of
abortion breeding a “culture of death”. He names the anti-abortionists, who kill
pro-abortionists or bomb abortion clinics, as the ones to blame for giving murderers and
terrorists “emotional fuel”.
     In this article, Joseph Kellard lists the common criticisms that anti-abortionists
have against pro-abortionists. He takes each criticism and turns them around and points
the same finger of disapproval against the anti-abortionists.