By Scott Tibbs, August 5, 2013
When people condemn Ariel Castro for kidnapping several young women and then brutally abusing and raping them for years, are the people condemning him challenged because what they are saying is "not very loving?" No, because condemning evil actions and victimization of these women shows love for these women and a desire that this should never happen to another woman. When we as a society condemn murder, rape, child abuse and torture, we do so because of love for the victims.
On the July 31 edition of Nightline, ABC sent a reporter to examine the possibility that the last remaining abortion "clinic" in Mississippi would close due to new regulations the "clinic" could not meet. As an abortion opponent said that babies are being murdered by dismemberment in the clinic, the reporter said that statement "is not very loving." The fact that it did not dawn on her that protecting the innocent from harm is the essence of loving your neighbor.
The objection to that is obvious. "A fetus is not a person and it is illogical to equate a fetus with people who have actually been born." Well, that's the central point of the debate, is it not? It is a silly distraction to debate whether condemnation of abortion is "loving" because that ignores the primary question - is the entity growing in the womb a human being or not?
I have been repeating this same point over and over for fifteen years, and frankly I am getting bored with it. Even so, I think it is necessary to repeat this point because there are so many people easily deceived and distracted by stupid arguments about whether something is "loving" or not. Because people are too easily led astray by their emotions when abortion comes up, it is necessary to bring logic back into the discussion.
