I was in a li’l debate the other day, I mean I tried to back off as soon as I could because it was their thread and I didn’t wanna hi-jack it, but they were comparing Roe and euthanasia (being in favor of both), whereas I said they’re completely different, and I instead was comparing the death penalty and euthanasia. But I realize that much of my li’l, uh, let’s call it “euthanasia hesitancy” could be misdirected and used by anti-choice advocates.
Truth is, I don’t think abortion is good. I just think it should be safe and legal for ever and everywhere and always. I think it being safe and legal is great. In a world where it was guaranteed to be safe and legal for ever I could argue against actually doing it (out of earshot of anyone who has gone through with it). And why do I think it should be safe and legal for ever?
It’s a jurisdiction issue. Pregnant people’s wombs are outside of your command. It’s not a place where your laws should reach.
It’s an accident of political history that anti-choice became a conservative talking point and pro-choice became a liberal one. After all, scripture says the soul arrives as you take your first breath.
Conservatives have had many anti-life positions from death penalty to eugenics. And liberals have had the scientific inquiring ponderings about “where does life begin really?” etc. And the right wing have had libertarian views. Don’t take my guns? Don’t take my mifepristone. Big government is bad. Stay out of my abortion clinic. That’s how things could’ve gone down in another timeline but that’s not how wedge issues work. People latch on to a position because that’s what other people in their camp thinks.
Most of the time the right-wing is the anti-scientific camp. They don’t believe in vaccines, in climate change, in gay love, or the complex nuances of what makes a man a man.
One time the right wing was right was phonics and how to teach kids how to read. That was an embarassement for us. And, I’ve seen some claims that anti-vaxx was a big issue on the left more than it was a right-wing issue, especially in the nineties. But for the most part I’m pretty happy about my camp.
Can’t the same jurisdiction argument be used in favor of euthanasia? Yeah. It probably can.
So it’s less that I’m arguing for a literal criminalization of suicide and more than I’m arguing against this ableist, healthist, eugenicist culture of “perfect happy cheerful sunshine life or die. Losers and failures and mutants, good bye”. That’s the message I’ve been told all my life and some of the euthanasia advocacy I’ve seen is the ultimate expression of that message.
One of the arguments I use is that we don’t know for sure that we’ll get to experience peace and relief. Another is that our lives isn’t just about winning and having the perfect body. I’m a complete fuck-up. I know that on the internet I only put the cool parts but I’m really such a loser. Trying to become OK with that.