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Conceived in rape

"We are not criminals; we are innocent human beings who deserve a chance at life just like everyone else."

If you were conceived in rape, there is a fair chance you wouldn't actually have a voice. Many people believe abortion is the only reasonable option. Sometimes, we are given a chance to listen to a perspective we may otherwise not have heard.

Comments

  1. The idea of keeping the child concieved of rape has recently become quite popular on TV and in film. For example, two of the main characters on Home and Away who were said to be sisters were in fact mother and daughter. That show has a large viewer-ship of the "young and influential". But the show is also full of other themes that are liberal in the extreme.

    A few nights ago I saw a film called Disgrace, which also dealt with the complex social reasoning of keeping a child of rape (among other things).

    These instances in popular culture cannot be nailed down to the rise of traditional, rightwing, conservative, liberal or any other narrow philosophical/political ideas. Life is complex dynamic undertaking; reasons and choices are often change from culture to culture and within different environments. This was demonstrated to effect in the Disgrace film. In life, nothing is so clear cut.

    In another recent German film called Revanche, the power issues around the conception of an illegitimate child added a new element to why people choose to keep a child rather than abort. Another example (of a film I don't remember the title, sorry) dealt with the same thing from a Jewish perspective.

    None of the characters were highly moral people. They were making real life choices.

    What I've noticed about the abortion debate on NZ blogsites is the total lack of global and personal perspective to the question. Yes, living and dying share similar aspects wherever you go, but to call abortion murder, or to call the choice to keep the child of rape virtuous, regardless of environment or culture, is oversimpifying. The choice, the chance to hear an alternative voice, is out there in people's faces, everywhere, everyday.

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  2. What exactly is your point about the global perspective?

    The personal perspective I think does come up in the debate. Obviously, it's a strong component of the pro-choice argument about a right to chose, and the personal circumstances that surrounds making such decisions.

    I personally do not call abortion murder in debates, but I can come close to that. I instead point out a life is terminated, and we are arguing about the reasons for that.

    The choice, the chance to hear an alternative voice, is out there in people's faces, everywhere, everyday.

    The story I linked to above is quite uncommon for the mainstream media. The issues are out there, sure. This blog is part of "out there" just as on another blog right now pro-choice people appear ecstatic that they might be able to legally terminate a foetus at 24 weeks if Steve Chadwick's Bill goes through.

    As far as what I said in the post, it seems to me you are trying to diminish this women's voice by arguing that you saw the same thing in a movie or soap opera. Well, great - but this story was a personal story from Real Life.

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