{"id":8956,"date":"2019-01-24T09:41:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T08:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8956"},"modified":"2019-01-24T09:45:17","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T08:45:17","slug":"stance-macabre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertsun.co.uk\/blog\/8956\/","title":{"rendered":"Stance Macabre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regular readers will know that my position on abortion<\/a> is that it’s a necessary evil, something best made available under certain conditions, with restrictions, and with the acknowledgement it’s really not a good thing to happen under any circumstances. This appears to be the general consensus in the UK and other European countries; there are principled opponents, but they lack the numbers to lobby for an outright ban, let alone get one passed.<\/p>\n

Not so the US. Rather than seek political consensus the American ruling classes opted for legal fudge, meaning 45 years after Roe v Wade<\/em> the subject is still highly divisive. This has led to those on the fringes dominating the discourse. On the right you have the likes of Ben Shapiro who thinks abortion is akin to murder and rape victims should be forced<\/a> to carry their unwanted babies to term. On the left the issue has become the vehicle by which lunatic feminists punch the patriarchy on the nose, and the more ghoulish they can make what ought to be a sensitive subject, the greater they imagine their victory.<\/p>\n

Yesterday New York State passed<\/a>\u00a0The Reproductive Health Act, which guarantees women the right to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks, or afterwards if her life is at risk or the fetus “not viable”. This bill was brought about in response to demands from feminists who are deluded enough to believe Roe v Wade<\/em> is about to be overturned and abortion will be banned nationwide. In passing it, they may have inadvertently strengthened the argument that it’s a matter best left to individual states to decide. Despite feminists’ claims that America is on the cusp of outlawing abortion, their laws are more lax than most European countries. For instance,\u00a0France<\/a>, Belgium<\/a>, and Denmark<\/a>\u00a0impose a limit of 12 weeks; Sweden’s<\/a> limit is 18 weeks. Germany<\/a> imposes a 12-week limit as well as a mandatory counselling and a 3-day waiting period. The UK<\/a> and the Netherlands<\/a> set the limit at 24 weeks, with the latter imposing a 5-day waiting period and the approval of two doctors after 12 weeks. None of these countries are hotbeds of religious patriarchy, yet American feminists claim they’re being stripped of their human rights unless their sisters can have unfettered access to abortion up to 24 weeks. Even then, many argue this doesn’t go far enough, hence the clause in the recent bill that allows for termination after this date.<\/p>\n

So having passed what is probably the most permissive abortion law anywhere on the planet, its proponents decided to celebrate. Here’s what New York’s governor thought was appropriate:<\/p>\n

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The #ReproductiveHealthAct<\/a> is now law in New York State. We lit the spire pink to celebrate. pic.twitter.com\/dJbZqvWefV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n