The Far Edge of Order & Disorder

by Chenthooran Nambiarooran

I have eaten

the spiders that were in my cave

and which you were probably counting for statistical purposes

But hey, you wanna know who else wasn’t human for the majority of their movie?

CAPTAIN WHITEBOY MCFURRY HERE

TRANSFORMATION IS A PLOT POINT OLDER THAN FICTION ITSELF

IT’S NOT RACIST.

GET OVER IT.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of repeating myself when it comes to debates about abortion. I’ve created this master post to provide links that refute the most common pro-choice arguments.

But the fetus isn’t even a life. It’s a clump of cells. It doesn’t matter.

3 reasons why a fetus is a human being

Straight from the embryology textbook:

A zygote [fertilized egg] is the beginning of a new human being. Human development begins at fertilization, the process during which a male gamete … unites with a female gamete or oocyte … to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized, totipotent cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.

Even more proof that life begins at fertilization

What is the unborn?

Okay, it’s a human, but it’s not a person.

The shockingly bloody history of legal personhood

From Personhood:

A criterion for personhood that depends on certain functions of human activity implies that individuals who perform the chosen function more excellently should have higher human value. Individuals suffering from severe Alzheimer’s disease or under general anesthesia, who may not be self-aware or able to create future expectations, could no longer be considered persons. We know, however, that the human under general anesthesia retains his personal identity despite his temporary lack of self-awareness, so his personhood must cohere in his underlying nature. Legally speaking, “persons” are guaranteed the fundamental rights of individuals, including the right to life. Historically, abuses of personhood have led to the genocide of groups deemed “non-persons” by more powerful political or social groups. For example, up until the 14th Amendment, African-American slaves were legally considered three-fifths of a person. Native Americans were exploited because they were treated as less than full persons. The racial distinctions used to label these groups as “non-persons” were conveniently invented to justify the violation of human rights.

Justifications for abortion are inherently ableist

What makes human valuable?

But it’s basically just a parasite!

Why the embryo or fetus is not a parasite

You’re just against it because you’re (religious, Republican, conservative, etc.), but I’m not (religious, Republican, conservative, etc.).

Secular Pro-life

Life Matters Journal

Feminists for Life

Pro-life OBGYNs

Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians

Democrats for Life

Pro-life Humanists

New Wave Feminists

Pro-life Pagans

Pro-life Socialists

Why should non-Christians care about abortion?

But if you make abortion illegal, women will die! Haven’t you heard of back alley abortions?

The truth about back alley abortions

More about the coat hanger myth

Refuting the back alley myth

But what about cases of rape or incest?

Rape and incest victims reject abortion

Hard cases, exceptional choices

An honest look at the rape and incest exceptions

A pro-life answer to the rape question

Answering the rape exception

Inside the world of anti-abortion activists who were conceived in rape or incest

While on the topic, the pro-life community must rally in support of the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act

What if the woman is going to die?

Is abortion ever necessary to save the life of the mother?

What about the health of the mother?

What if the child is going to have a short life anyways?

Hard cases: Jeannie Wallace French

Hard cases: Tracy Haugen

Hard cases: Diane Simoni

Hard cases: Angelica Talavera

Abortion is needed to prevent overpopulation.

Simply stated: no. It’s not.

Women don’t regret their abortions!

Silent No More awareness campaign

Testimonies from post-abortive women

Abortion Recovery

Abortion workers regret their experience in the industry

Well, if you’re against abortion, why aren’t you against [insert other human rights injustice]?

We are against all forms of aggressive violence. That includes, but is not limited to: unjust war, abortion, euthanasia, slavery, torture, rape, embryonic stem cell research, human trafficking, abuse, sexism, racism, police brutality, suicide, etc.

Check out organizations like Life Matters Journal (read the most recent issue here!)and Consistent Life to find out more about this consistent approach to human rights issues.

That being said, not every pro-life organization is against all of the above. Dismissing their arguments against abortion because they happen to not be against some other form of injustice is an ad hominem fallacy.

Why ad hominem fallacies derail conversations

If you’re gonna be against abortion, you better be doing [insert some charitable action].

This is similar to the previous argument. Dismissing someone’s argument because you feel that they aren’t “doing enough” is another ad hominem fallacy. 

That being said, pro-life organizations do a whole lot to support those in need:

Catholic Charities USA (which is obviously against abortion) is #13 on the Forbes list of the 50 largest US charities.

Pregnant on Campus supports pregnant or parenting students and provides them with resources.

Abortion Recovery helps men and women who have been affected by abortion.

Project Rachel also helps post-abortive women.

Option Line provides free counseling for pregnant women.

Pregnancy resource centers provide free ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, STI screening, parenting classes, and material assistance.

Pro-life organizations also assist in the adoption process.

You can’t be a feminist if you’re pro-life! Being pro-life is anti-woman.

That’s a straw man argument. Straw men make for poor arguments.

Besides, try to tell that to our feminist foremothers who were anti-abortion.

And finally, the most popular pro-choice argument:

My body, my choice!

Why “It’s my body, I can do what I want!” won’t do

De Facto Guardian and Abortion

Why pregnancy is not comparable to forced organ donation

Again, you can’t compare pregnancy and forced organ donation

Dismantling the “bodily rights” argument without using the responsibility argument

From secularprolifeprofamily:

When you realize why the political pro-life/pro-choice divide truly exists, the whole “bodily autonomy” argument falls apart.At its core, it’s not merely about protecting fetuses or not. It’s about whether abortion should be a legally sanctioned medical procedure.And the right to bodily autonomy doesn’t guarantee any sort of medical procedure no matter what.In most jurisdictions, no practitioner will legally give breast implants to an underage girl. Surgeons refuse to amputate the limbs of BIID sufferers. Are those infringements upon bodily autonomy? Of course not. Nobody is fundamentally entitled to procedures that may be irresponsible or unethical.

If you know what you want and work hard enough for it, you’ll succeed.

Richest woman in the US: Black Most powerful person in the US: Black Highest paid actor in the US: Black Highest paid athlete in the US: Black

Privilege is kind of like luck. It’s what you make of it.

However, modern looking clowns have been a part of western culture far before that time.  They originated from classic 17th Century European pantomime, Shakespearean and zanni characters - Pierrot and Harlequin being two of the most historically famous examples.  

They have been a part of operas in Italy, England, and France prior to Civil War.  Pagliacci was a famous Italian opera starring a clown right around the end of Reconstruction.  You’ll notice the getup and look is similar to modern clown costumes typically depicted by whiteface clowns and inspired by Pierrot.

Even the image this guy above points to as an example of clowns imitating black face is that of a classic Depression era hobo clown, far after the post-Civil War era.  The makeup is meant to resemble an exaggerated five o’clock shadow of a vagabond for viewers in the stands to easily recognize along with their other embellished clothing; not to depict poor destitute blacks after the Civil War.  It’s similarity to minstrel blackface is purely coincidental by this point and actually may be credited to a fool “auguste” clown played by Tom Belling in Circus Renz, in Germany also prior to the Civil War.

The hobo clown picture here is Emmett Kelly who made this look famous during the Depression.  Prior to that he chose the common whiteface style makeup as shown on the clown to his right.  Whiteface clown makeup was also brought from European circuses, and possibly was popularized by a European performer named Joseph Grimaldi at the turn of the 19th Century.

Needless to say, although minstrel acts did exist well into the early 20th century, the hobo clown, and the circus clown in general, had nothing to do with black face characters in minstrels other than a similar style of makeup pattern.