Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

208 Pages·2008·1.15 MB·English

by  Rachel M MacNair

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CONSISTENTLY OPPOSING
KILLING
From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death
Penalty, and War
EditedbyRachelM.MacNairandStephenZunes
i
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Consistentlyopposingkilling:fromabortiontoassistedsuicide,thedeathpenalty,
andwar/editedbyRachelM.MacNairandStephenZunes.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978–0–313–35278–2(alk.paper)
1. Violence—Moralandethicalaspects. 2. Lifeanddeath,Powerover. 3. Bioethics.
I.MacNair,Rachel. II.Zunes,Stephen.
BJ1459.5.C66 2008
179(cid:2).7—dc22 2007050088
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:3)C 2008byRachelM.MacNairandStephenZunes
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2007050088
ISBN-13:978–0–313–35278–2
Firstpublishedin2008
PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ii
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Contents
Introduction:ThePowerofBeingConsistent 1
RachelM.MacNair
CONNECTEDVIOLENCE
1 WordGamesTakeLives 11
WilliamBrennan
2 TheLeftHasBetrayedtheSanctityofLife:ConsistencyDemands
ConcernfortheUnborn 19
MaryMeehan
3 TheIndivisibilityofLifeandtheSlipperySlope 25
NatHentoff
4 Israel/PalestineandAbortion 33
StephenZunes
5 UnderstandingHowKillingTraumatizestheKiller 39
RachelM.MacNair
6 AbortionandtheFeminizationofPoverty 47
ThomasW.Strahan
7 TheDirectKillingofRacismandPoverty 55
Excerptsfromvarioussources
iii
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iv Contents
8 WhenBigotryTurnsDisabilitiesDeadly 61
Excerptsfromvarioussources
9 RighttoLifeofHumansandAnimals 67
VasuMurti
10 DoestheSeamlessGarmentFit?AmericanPublicOpinion 73
EdithBogue
11 PerceptionsofConnections 87
RachelM.MacNair
CONNECTEDSOLUTIONS
12 ActivistsReminisce:AnOralHistoryofPro-lifersforSurvival 105
Tapedinterview
13 ActivismThroughouttheCenturies 117
MaryKraneDerr
14 ChangingHeartsandMinds 133
MaryMeehan
15 TheLaw’sRoleintheConsistentLifeEthic 147
CarolCrossed
16 Pro-lifePolitics:FromCounter-MovementtoTransforming
Movement 159
JamesR.Kelly
17 ConnectingtheDots—Nonviolently 173
MichaelN.Nagler
18 PeoplePowerandRegimeChange:HowNonviolenceSpreads
Democracy 179
StephenZunes
19 ConflictTransformation:Dissolving“BattleLines” 187
RachelM.MacNair
AbouttheEditorsandContributors 195
Index 197
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Introduction: The Power
of Being Consistent
Rachel M. MacNair
“With consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life from its com-
mencement to its close, is protected by common law....By law it is pro-
tected not only from immediate destruction, but from every degree of actual
violence...”
—JamesWilson,UnitedStatesSupremeCourtJustice,signerofthe
DeclarationofIndependenceandtheU.S.Constitution,“Lectureson
Law,”1791
This book expands on the consistent life ethic, which has also been called the
“seamlessgarment”approachtoissuesofsociallyapprovedviolence.Wewill
be making the case that issues of violence are connected, their solutions are
alsoconnected,andthereispersuasivepowerinbeingconsistentbyleaving
noloopholesintheargumentsagainstviolence.
TheissuesthathavebeenselectedbytheorganizationConsistentLifeare
war,abortion,thedeathpenalty,euthanasia,poverty,andracism.Manyother
issuescouldalsobeincludedwherebrevityisunnecessary,andsoareincluded
inthisbook.
Despiteconstantmediamisrepresentationsorneglect,boththepeacemove-
ment and the pro-life movement have been strong and have achieved great
things. We want to make the case that they could achieve much more in
harmony with each other rather than spiraling down into the thoughtless
stereotypessocommontopoliticsandthepress.
1
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2 ConsistentlyOpposingKilling
HOWEFFECTIVEHASTHEPEACEMOVEMENTBEEN?
The peace movement has ended already-established wars. As far back as the
nineteenth century, the United States war with Mexico ended earlier than
President Polk wished and with less than he wished to gain because, de-
spite military success, the opposition was fierce. Some historians argue that
theanti-imperialistmovement limitedtheextentoftheU.S.conquestofthe
Philippines in the late 1800s and early 1900s, leading the way to Philippine
independence. Pressures from the peace movement may have limited U.S.
intervention during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s and softened later
tensions. Historians find that the antiwar movement had an impact on the
war policies toward Vietnam of Presidents Johnson and Nixon.1 They were
pushed to de-escalate and finally withdraw. They preferred losing to using
tacticalnuclearweapons,forfearofpublicreaction.
How many wars have been contemplated but have got shelved for fear of
public reaction? We can never know. Additionally, possible wars have been
preventedbeforetheyevengottothatstagethroughtechniquesdevelopedby
thepeacemovementsuchasconflictresolutionskills,internationalcoopera-
tion, treaties, and nonviolent mass movements to resist dictators and unjust
policies.
As for the nuclear arms race, let me quote from historian Lawrence
S.Wittner:
Thereisalsoconsiderableevidencethatitwasthepeacemovementthat
broughtanendtotheColdWar.Thepeacemovement’sstruggleagainst
thenucleararmsraceanditsclearestmanifestation,nucleartesting,led
directlytoKennedy’s1963AmericanUniversityaddressandtothePartial
TestBanTreatyofthatyear,whichbeganSoviet-Americande´tente.The
speech was partially written by Norman Cousins, founder and co-chair
of the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, America’s largest
peacegroup...
WhenthehawkishReaganadministrationrevivedtheColdWarand
escalatedthenucleararmsrace,theseactionstriggeredthegreatestout-
burstofpeacemovementactivisminworldhistory...InEurope[andthe
U.S.],inthefallof1983somefivemillionpeopleturnedout...Reagan
wasstunned....
Consequently, in January 1984, Reagan delivered a remarkable pub-
lic address calling for peace with the Soviet Union and for a nuclear-
free world...But the Soviet leadership was not interested in following
up...untiltheadventofMikhailGorbachevinMarch1985.Gorbachev,
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Introduction 3
unlikehispredecessors,wasreadytotakeaction,forhewasamovement
convert.
His“NewThinking”...wasalmostacarboncopyofthepeacemove-
ment’sprogram.AsGorbachevhimselfdeclared:“Thenewthinkingtook
intoaccountandabsorbedtheconclusionsanddemandsof...themove-
ments of physicians, scientists, and ecologists, and of various antiwar
organizations.” Not surprisingly, then, Reagan and Gorbachev, spurred
onbythepeacemovement,movedrapidlytowardnucleardisarmament
treatiesandanendtotheColdWar.2
Evenmoreimpressivehasbeentheworldwideeruptioninusingnonviolent
tactics and “people power” for opposing colonialism, dictatorships, racism,
and stolen elections, along with advancing civil and human rights. Though
suchnonviolentrebellionshaveoccurredaroundtheworldandhaveoccurred
throughouthistory,3theirusehasgrowndramaticallyinrecenttimes.In1989
alone,unarmedinsurrectionstookplaceincountriesthatheld32percentof
theworld’spopulation.ThetwentiethcenturysawsuchanoutburstthatWalter
Winkpointsoutthatifweaddedupthepopulationsofallthesecountries,it
would cover about 64 percent of humanity.4 Nonviolent action has moved
frombeingafringeideaofeccentricpacifiststobecomingsomethingthathas
workedsooftenandsowellthatsomepromoteitnotoutofprinciplebutfor
practicality.
Themovementagainstthedeathpenaltyisrelated.Executionsusedtobe
widespread, deliberately brutal, and for trivial offenses, so the death penalty
abolitionmovementhasmaderemarkableprogress.Capitalpunishmenthas
beenabolishedinmostcountries.Whereitispracticed,itismorelikelytobe
hidden from public view rather than on display with a carnival atmosphere,
to attempt humane as opposed to tortuous methods, and to be restricted to
majoroffenses.Endingthepracticeisarealisticpossibilitywithinafewgen-
erationsatthemost.Themovementhasbeeneffective,andbidsfairtofinish
thejob.
HOWEFFECTIVEHASTHEPRO-LIFEMOVEMENTBEEN?
Whilebothabortionandeuthanasiahavebeencommonthroughouthistory,
I will focus here on more recent events. When conception was scientifically
discoveredtobethebiologicalbeginningofanindividuallifeinthenineteenth
century, there was a remarkably successful campaign in many areas of the
worldbymedicalpeopletopushfortheabortionprohibitionlawsthathadbeen
at point of “quickening” to apply back to the point of conception. The major
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4 ConsistentlyOpposingKilling
challenge to this by eugenicists and the Nazis became discredited, though
illegal abortions were prevalent. By the 1960s, a move to legalize abortion
arose.
Inamajorpoliticaltsunami,theU.S.SupremeCourthandeddownitsdeci-
sionsintheRoev.WadeandDoev.BoltoncasesonJanuary22,1973.Abortion
prohibitionlawsofallfiftystatesweresweptaway,andothercountrieswere
influenced accordingly. Despite existing before then, the right-to-life move-
mentintheUnitedStatesgenerallyregardsthatdayasthestartingpointofits
struggle.
HowsuccessfulhasthemovementbeenintheUnitedStates?Measuring
its success in the narrow terms of being able to overturn Roe v. Wade is
remarkablyinadequate.Itwouldonlymeanlegislationcanbepassed,notthat
it will be. There is also only so much legislation alone can do. But there has
beenremarkablesuccessintwootherareas.
Thefirstareaistheimpactonthepracticeofabortionitself.IntheUnited
States,therawnumbers,theabortionratepernumberofwomen,andratioof
abortions to live births have all been dropping steadily forseveral years. The
number of abortion clinics in the United States has dropped precipitously,
fromover2,000in1990tolessthan700by2005.Abortionhasbecomemore
concentratedintheseclinics,awayfromthehospitals,whichmeansthatthe
dropinclinicsisindeedadramaticdropinavailability.
Furthermore, thenumbers ofabortions arebeing keptup byrepeatabor-
tions. The drop in first-time abortions is truly dramatic. Because no one can
have a repeat abortion without having a first abortion, and because repeat
abortions will stop as women pass reproductive age, an even more dramatic
declinecanbeexpectedoverthenextfewyears.
The stigma on doctors who perform abortions has never entirely disap-
peared,evenamongpeoplewhosupportabortion.Theideaofincreasingthe
numberofabortionprovidersbyqualifyingnon-doctorstoperformthemcould
haveaboomerangeffect:Howmanydoctorswillcontinueifnon-doctorscan
doit?Thiswouldtakeawaytheoneshredofreputationtheyhaveleft.
Therefore, the abortion business is currently in a state of deep decline, at
leastintheUnitedStates.Thecollapseofthebusinessiswellunderway,and
many of the supports necessary to keep it from collapsing further are not in
place. Nor is this merely a wishful-thinking bias of opponents. For example,
the lead attorney in the Roe v. Wade case, Sarah Weddington, said, “When I
lookbackonthedecision,Ithoughtthesewordshadbeenwritteningranite.
ButI’velearneditwasnotgranite.Itwasmorelikesandstone.Theimmediate
problemis,wherewillthedoctorscomefrom?”5
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Introduction 5
This is the view in the United States. The situation varies much more in
othercountries,withupsurgesandsubsidings.Polandisacountrywhichhad
widespread legalized abortion and later banned it. The maternal death rate
wentdown,contrarytotheexpectationsofabortiondefenders.6
The second area where the right-to-life movement has been remarkably
successful is in stopping the slide down the slippery slope. Some predicted
that once abortion was legalized, infanticide and euthanasia of the disabled
would follow. Attempts occurred in abundance and used Roe v. Wade as a
precedent.Yet,infanticideisnotwidespread,andthemarginsofeuthanasia
arestillbeingarguedinmostplaces.Thejuggernauthasnotpickedupsteam
asmuchasitsurelywouldhave,hadtherenotbeenanenergeticright-to-life
movementopposingit.
INCONSISTENCYASSABOTAGE
Let us set aside the lunatic fringes—the yellers and haters, bombers and
shooters—thatalllargemovementshaveandaredamagedby.Theyareclearly
inconsistentwiththegoalsofanymovementagainstviolenceandaccordingly
arecommonlycondemned.
Thedeeperquestionis,whathasitdonetothepeacemovementtohaveso
manyofitsmembersassumethata“pro-choice”standispartoftheprogram?
The peace movement is losing influence on many people of tender con-
sciencewhoareconcernedaboutpreventingviolenceagainstunbornchildren
andbelievethatsuchviolencealsohurtstheirmothers.Howmanysuchpeo-
ple disbelieve our rhetoric of peace, when they perceive it as not consistently
applied?
Theimpactoftheabortiondebateonpoliticsisexcruciatingtothefragile
peacegoals.Electionshavesomethingcalledthe“pro-lifeincrement,”defined
as the votes a candidate gains from opposing abortion minus the votes lost.
Pollsconsistentlyshowthatithasbeenanimportantfactorincloseracesall
over the United States since 1980, most commonly around 3–4 percent of
the total votes. This factor sometimes helps the candidate who is better on
peaceandjusticeissues,suchasGovernorRobertCaseyofPennsylvania.But
it frequently helps the candidate who is worse on such issues from a peace
movementpointofview.
Ifweinthepeacemovementloseourimpactonelections,onlegislation,
andonpolicybecauseofdefendingabortion,isthislossthepricewepayfor
standingupforourprinciples?Orisitinsteadapricethevictimsofwarpay?
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6 ConsistentlyOpposingKilling
If abortion also has victims, then squandering our effectiveness in opposing
warforitssakebecomesadoubletragedy.
Conversely,whathasitdonetotheright-to-lifemovementtohaveitspoliti-
calfortuneshitchedtopoliticianswhopromotewarandthedeathpenaltyand
inadequatelyfundantipovertyprograms?
The movement loses influence on many people of tender conscience
concerned about preventing violence against, to use a popular slogan of
yesteryears, “Children and Other Living Things.” When wars come one af-
ter another and military expenditures wreak havoc on the needs of the poor,
theyseeitasmassive,visibleviolence.Howmanysuchpeopledisbelieveour
rhetoricforlife,whentheyperceiveitasnotconsistentlyapplied?
Asforpolitics,thesingle-issuefocushasamarvelouseffectongettingU.S.
candidatestocommittoamoreprincipledratherthancompromise-oriented
stand,afeaturetheaveragepeaceactivistcouldenvy.Butitalsomeansthatfor
officeholders,onejuicyscandaloroneunpopularwaroroneunheededmajor
hurricanecanleavethealreadyshakyandoftenneglectedlegislativegoalsand
policies—andthenextelection—veryvulnerable.
COGNITIVECONSISTENCY
Doesthehumanmindcarewhetheritsbeliefsareconsistent?Oh,yes!Thisis
among the strongest findings in psychology. The mind has a strong drive to
seetoitthatitsbeliefs,feelings,andactionsareconsistent.
Inthe1950s,psychologistLeoFestingernoticedstrangebehaviorinsome
people. These people would predict that some major event—massive floods,
theendoftheworld,theSecondComing,alandingofalienshipsfromouter
space, etc.—would take place on a specific date. The date came and went,
but nothing happened. The sensible conclusion was that the prediction was
wrong. Some people concluded that this was so, but others generated some
astounding explanations for why the prediction was correct, but something
hadchanged.Theywouldthenproselytizeaboutit.Thesepeoplehadgivenup
their jobs and sold their houses and arranged their lives in such a manner
that they would be in trouble if the predictions were wrong. Therefore, the
predictionswerenotwrong.Theyneededtomakerealityconsistentwiththeir
behavior,andtheyneededtoconvinceotherpeoplethatrealitywasconsistent
withtheirbehavior.
Festingercalledthestateofhavingideasand/oractionsoutofwhackwith
one another “cognitive dissonance.” Many experiments throughout decades
verifiedit:Thehumanurgetoavoidinconsistencyisstrong.7