At first glance at the headings, I was admittedly dismayed. ‘Supreme Court kills abortion rights in the US’, screamed The Times of India. It went on to say that the fifty year old landmark Roe vs. Wade judgment that had made abortion a ‘constitutional right’ had been ‘overturned’ by a conservative dominated court, and went on to quote President Biden (a Democrat) calling it a ‘sad day’ and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (also a Democrat) declaring that the ruling is ‘a slap in the face to women’. Someone has even said on record that it shows that in America the rule of law is being replaced with ‘rule by judges’.
What absurd hyperbole, what wildly speculative scare-mongering, what utterly senseless allegations are being thrown around (immediately to be supported by tens of millions of twitter posts from people who can neither read nor think nor care to go into the nitty gritty of any serious issue at all, even to the minimal extent of reading the reports in full)!
First and foremost, they have done nothing like ‘overturning’ Roe vs. Wade. All they have done is a) mandated that, barring emergencies, abortions cannot be carried out beyond 15 weeks (a little less than four months) after conception, because doctors, lawyers and most ethicists agree that after that the foetus begins increasingly to resemble a human being, so MTP virtually amounts to murder, and b) that state legislatures will henceforth be free to devise their own (stronger) restrictions. For the sake of comparison, The Times thankfully provided a chart to show what sort of restrictions other countries imposed: from there I learnt that in 2021, Poland, for example, imposed a ‘near-total’ ban on abortions, but apparently even that near-total leaves out all cases where the child is born as a result of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. For heaven’s sake, what ‘right’ or ‘freedom’ are women and liberals screaming about having lost? In India, I have just been told (doctors and lawyers among my readers, correct me if I am wrong), there is no such ‘right’ at all: it is the doctor who decides, based on purely medical considerations, whether an MTP is warranted or not (it is another matter that as with everything else, there is a huge grey area where millions of women lose their lives or ability to give birth and/or their babies as a result of forced and botched abortions, most often done by quacks). My understanding is that there are now a vast number of people around who take childbirth and motherhood as something as trivial as going to the beauty parlour or buying an ice cream – was happily fornicating around/ just learned that we’re going to have a baby/ took more than three months to decide we don’t want it/ let’s get an abortion (like let’s have dinner at a chic restaurant)! And when conservatives, whether in the US or America (including a lot of women!), regard such an attitude as sacrilege – people should not breed like dogs and cats, without responsibility – they are branded orthodox, stupid, misogynistic and every other abuse you can think of. No man or woman has a right, we say, to bring a baby into this world without first having decided to take responsibility for it till it attains adulthood: if they dare to claim that they were just ‘having fun’, or it happened ‘by mistake’, they do not have a right to have unprotected sex at all. Rigid? Yes. Moralisitic? Yes, too. Orthodox? Fine. We don’t think quadrupeds make better human beings. Remember, always, that unregulated freedom brings only chaos, anarchy and loss of civilization in its train. The least I can say is, if someone – a mother to be – really has to kill the baby growing inside her, she had better know that it should be treated as one of the most serious decisions she will ever make in her life, and she had better decide fast: if possible, within days of knowing what has happened. It is nothing short of sin to wait three months or more. And if some people insist on that kind of responsibility, they are not perverts.
Turning to the huge recent brouhaha over the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme for hiring soldiers in India. The way the liberals/opposition politicians and press are going on, it is as if it will be the end of the world. The truth is a) the government’s hand has been forced, because they simply don’t have money enough to keep on footing the already monstrous pension bill for retired soldiers any more, b) they are trying to reduce to some extent the average age of our soldiers (it was becoming an old men’s army – more of a joke in a real wartime situation than anything else), and c) many countries, as the same newspaper assures me, have schemes for very short service military jobs, as short as four or five years, so the Indian government is not doing something either stupid or utterly unheard of. What kind of opposition is this, what kind of liberalism and socialism is this, that they will scream blue murder at whatever the government does without considering the merits and compulsions? I am not a great admirer of Modi's, and I rue many of his hasty ‘reform’ schemes, but why should I abandon all reason and information to criticize, often in the silliest, most abusive terms, everything that he does?
And what kind of press have we got that insanely exaggerates everything that it serves up, especially in the headlines, knowing that 99 per cent of voters don’t read beyond them? Isn’t it high time that reporters and editors and owners were sternly pulled up for writing content where the actual report sharply differs from, even contradicts, the headline? Isn't it time to wonder whether the proliferation of 'journalists' has itself become a serious pestilence?
P.S., June 29: Delightful to read in today's newspaper that the government is finally banning single use low utility plastic bags (from July 01), so soon after I wrote here about it: see the last post. I hope the ban is implemented in all seriousness. Pupu, I know, will be happy - she has been refusing to accept such bags at shops since she was so high!
6 comments:
Dear Sir,
Before I write about the judgement and the ensuing reaction, I'd like to write a bit about the overturning of the 1973 precedent in the first place. From what I've read and heard (from political commentators), filling up the Supreme Court with a “super-majority” of conservative judges and making several appointments in the lower courts might be Trump's enduring and most impactful legacy, given that the Supreme Court judges are appointed for life and, hence, their decisions have the potential to affect millions of lives, possibly for generations.
The “pro-choice” people make the argument that their stance is based on (a woman's) right to privacy, while the “pro-lifers” argue about the sanctity of life. That's the same argument used by Conservative elected officials, in general. However, coming from them, such an argument is quite disingenuous given that they are adamant on passing no gun laws in spite of hundreds of mass shootings every year, and being vehemently opposed to universal healthcare. They love the idea of minimum government — no taxes, little regulation (including environment-related ones), no restrictions on guns, free speech — except when it pertains to things they don't like such as abortion, gay rights, assisted suicide and so on. Things like universal healthcare, subsidized college tuition, minimum wage, trade unions are deemed to be socialist/communist/Marxist. My point here is that I strongly doubt they really care about the sanctity of life. There's a joke that they care about a life only before it's born.
Most politicians, in both parties, are beholden not to their constituents but lobbyists who represent guns, big pharma, defence contractors, chemical industries, insurance companies, bankers, tech companies, auto manufacturers and so on. None of them seem to have anything to do with abortion rights. On this issue, the Conservatives like to appease the small number of Catholics and white evangelical Protestants. I might have to dig up more on why that is the case, given that they aren't a very big number. In fact, a poll which is widely cited in all the news articles I've read, states that the majority of Americans are for abortion rights in some form. I don't know if it's simply a matter of oneupmanship or doing something just because they can.
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After looking around a bit online, to understand exactly which ruling was overturned and what it all means, I found this informative bit on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61804777 Apparently, the original ruling allowed for abortion without restriction in the first trimester and increasing restrictions in the next two. Although states can make their own laws, they couldn't device anything against the one issued by the SC because it was framed as a privacy issue, which is enshrined in the constitution (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54513499). Now that it's been overturned, different states can pass their own laws without coming in conflict with any federal laws. In some states, life begins at conception (exceptions only if mum's life is in danger or foetus has deformities; in some states, exceptions extended to incest and rape). In some others, abortion's banned after six weeks or thirteen weeks and so on.
Apparently, on average, a woman finds out she is pregnant after about five-and-a-half weeks. In cases where in spite of all precautions she becomes pregnant (when she didn't intend to), she would have no recourse any more. If the conservative states pass their laws, she won't be criminally prosecuted if she tries to get an abortion, but anyone who assisted will. They might make laws restricting travel to a more liberal state to have an abortion performed. Some people fear that certain states might ban emergency contraception or all kinds of contraception all together (which does seem a bit over the top, but then they did elect a reality star and a complete moron as their president). One of the SC judges also stated that since they have overturned one precedent, they might want to look at others too. He specifically referred to cases pertaining to same-sex marriage. That might be another reason for all the sensationalism. They say this judgement is going to affect the poorest people the most. As it is, social mobility is quite low in the US, compared to other developed countries, and having more poor people grow up in poverty, crime, drugs, violence and broken families is just going to make things worse.
In spite of my general cynicism, I am inclined to think that abortion is not a decision a woman would make lightly. It is bound to be a serious matter which would provide some perspective on life, for most people. As for those who are pathologically flippant or careless, I would rather such people not raise kids at all, lest we end up in the kind of world portrayed in the film “Idiocracy”! In matters of fun or recreation, such as alcohol, drugs, gambling and prostitution, prohibition hasn't really worked. It only sent them underground and handed power to gangs and mafia. I doubt abstinence, as a solution, is going to work either. While I tend to agree with “My body, my choice”, and that whatever two consenting adults decide to do with each other is not my business, I feel there is room for discussion about protecting a foetus at a stage when it is viable outside the womb (fifteen weeks or twenty-two, whatever the doctors say).
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I also read about the latest scheme in India and some articles by commentators. The level-headed ones in the opposition have only found fault with the way it was brought about: seemingly, without much debate and discussion, as with most other bills that were bulldozed through (DeMon, GST, 370, lockdown, farm laws and so on). The bill regarding the farm laws might have been the one thing I'd have agreed with (based on my limited understanding of it), but they had to be withdrawn! Anyway, apart from hiring fewer and younger people, defence is also becoming more automated (for example, drones) in developed countries. The way the “protests” disintegrated into violence, the demographic dividend seems to be turning into a demographic disaster: such a large proportion of young people with little education, no jobs, perhaps some sense of entitlement and a lot of anger. This was, apparently, the exact kind of tinder that ignited the Arab Spring.
This has become another monstrous “comment”.
Sincerely
Nishant.
Thank you for writing a detailed, sober, well-thought out critical comment at such short notice, Nishant. If you had any idea of the idiotic level of the average comment I get, you wouldn't be surprised to know that your kind of comment could not be too 'monstrous' for me!
I hope I can marshall my thoughts to write a proper rejoinder that does justice to your comment, which will include yielding to some of the points you have made. Meanwhile, I beg you to appreciate, remembering the kind of man and father I have been, that my strong reaction comes from a) a deep rooted conviction that conception should not be lightly brought about and ended as early as possible without delay if the baby is truly unwanted, and b) much of today's conservative reaction stems from a revulsion towards the long history of liberal excesses committed over the last half century not only in America but in many other countries, a revulsion very deeply felt by many decent, non-violent, educated, philosophically minded people. Do I need to apologize for belonging to that category?
Sir
Many thanks, sir. I appreciate your appreciation!
I am completely with you on point (a). I'd like to think (and fervently hope) though that most people wouldn't vacillate for weeks before deciding to terminate a pregnancy. I just fear that the worst case scenario (possible in some states) could result in a rise in teenage pregnancies (I forgot to add this in the original comment) or affect poorer people disproportionately.
The damage done by classical liberalism, i.e., free-market capitalism (which, for some reason, is more beloved of the Right now, while the Left seems to prefer more regulations, at least in countries like the US), have been extensively highlighted by you in several articles. Opinions on every ideological issue seem to be moving towards extremes, thanks to people being trapped in their own echo chambers. While it's rather easy to be critical of the “other” side, it's much harder to introspect and try to reform one's own. In some matters (such as gender, sexuality, political correctness, “cultural appropriation”, identity politics, need for a “safe space”, looking for equality of outcome, just to name a few), in the West, the Left has gone berserk. That's the reason I am always on the lookout for legitimate critiques of such issues. It is not always easy to find arguments made in good faith.
To put this in context, I'd like to say that since being in your class, I've thought of you as a liberal and, on occasion, a radical (for such simple yet important views as “question social conventions”, “just because a person is older doesn't mean he is necessarily correct”, “your space ends where my nose begins” and so on), of the rational kind. That has to have had some influence in shaping how I see the world. Hence, I find it easier and more productive to engage with those who I see as liberal but do not shy away from critiquing “liberal” ideas of the day.
I forgot to include my thoughts on journalism of today in my previous comment. I have heard from former journalists of papers such as Washington Post that traditional journalism is truly in trouble. Ever since news started becoming available online, subscribers of newspapers dwindled rapidly, as did the papers' ad revenue. People are so used to free stuff on the internet that no one wants to pay or subscribe to “serious” news websites. Sites such as Washington Post or NewYork Times allow a certain number of free articles a month and then ask readers to pay. Their only other recourse is to print click-baity headlines so that more clicks puts them higher on the Google search results. Or they have to depend on philanthropists or billionaires like Bezos. They also tend to take sides very openly, rather than at least maintain a veneer of objectivity, which has further reduced people's trust in them. This has led to a rise in many small independent news websites. I don't know how one can go about verifying them. The future of journalism seems a bit bleak and somewhat scary.
Sincerely
Nishant.
Thank you most gratefully for the last comment, Nishant, and sorry I was late in putting it up.
I cannot say how glad I am that you remember things (I considered vastly more important than schoolwork) I said in class more than two decades ago. You warm the cockles of an old teacher's heart, the sort of teacher who tried so hard and found that the vast majority forget everything once a piffling board examination is over. Evidently most people have never found anything very important or interesting or memorable about things I said!
Yes, all my life I have gone by a handful of dictums: facts are sacred, not theories; when you don't know the facts, or they are simply not known for certain, be quiet or say you don't know; and that all extremes are bad - the only right philosophical position is one of moderation, guided by reason and facts and nothing else. Alas, I have lived long enough to find out that that is NOT the popular outlook, and things have actually worsened greatly over the last half century, despite the so-called spread of 'education', which was supposed to make men more enlightened. I am neither a feminist nor a misogynist, neither staunchly religious nor an atheist, neither a liberal nor a dyed-in-the-wool conservative... I have always insisted that I shall decide every single argument on the merits of the case. And the price you pay is deep unpopularity and social isolation. No matter, I am glad I have lived the way I have.
In this particular case, we seem to have come close together in our positions over the ongoing argument, so I shall not add more to it, especially since nobody else has 'had time' to join the discussion (these days they are all twitterati, only there to 'like' or abuse you, preferably with emojis, without being able to articulate a single sensible point of view in five lines!).
As for your remarks on the current state of journalism, I can only concur and lament.
Keep commenting!
Sir
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