Coming Soon: Infanticide!

       In a particularly acrimonious exchange in a history seminar at a state university, Estase made the prediction (this was in 2008) that abortion was no longer sufficient for the pro-choice movement.  Based on the votes (including that of then-Senator Obama) against the Born Alive Infant Protection Bill, Estase submitted to his classmates that within the next ten years, mainstream politicians would support infanticide.  After all, ethicist Peter Singer supports infanticide.  What's more, Roe v. Wade used as part of its argument that abortion was legal in ancient Rome.  Infanticide was legal and widely practiced in ancient Greece, vide Sophocles' Oedipus Rex ,where the title character survived an infanticide attempt.  If ancient Roman attitudes are a basis for Constitutional law, then ancient Greek attitudes are a basis for Constitutional law.  The high court is entirely likely to create a ruling authorizing infanticide, especially in light of the fact that the Journal of Medical Ethics published an article by Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva called for infanticide for babies with Down's Syndrome.  The deadly duo wrote a follow-up to their original article recently (with a petasus tip to www.savingdowns.com) where they opined that we hoi polloi must be eased into baby killing.  They say, "Second, issues in bioethics deal with topics, such as life, death, the moral status of human beings (and many others) that touch upon people's most profound and personal values.  For this reason, very often ideas which go against traditional values are perceived with an immediate feeling of shock and an immediate impulse to rebut the proposition, prior to any rational, cold reflection.  And the problem is that such reactions cannot be easily dismissed as a sign of irrationality of people who cannot fully appreciate the opportunities of new biotechnologies or the freedom and well-being that some medical options can promote."  Come again?  Reminds me of that brilliant asshole, Jonathan Swift, and his unfortunately prophetic "A Modest Proposal."  Dean Swift parodied the Whig spirit of projects.  In this, he proposes a novel solution to Ireland's poverty.  If they lack animal protein and cannot feed their kids, why not encourage the Irish to eat their babies?  After all, it is nothing but "an immediate feeling of shock and an immediate impulse to rebut the proposition, prior to any rational, cold reflection."  Why yes, maybe eating babies is a good solution to poverty!  After all, it would be sad if we couldn't "fully appreciate the opportunities or the freedom and well being" that eating babies might offer.