When did dependency signify worthlessness?
There are foundational misconceptions on which hinge a woman’s right to abort. One of them is that her privileged uterus has the right to choose whether or not it wants to house the human being who dwells inside of it. “I have a right to my uterus, to do what I want with it.”
This is a sobering misconception.
The problem is that you are only evaluating the will of the independent human being involved in this scenario. The will of the child in utero is completely overlooked.
When did dependency become a reason to devalue?
Elder abuse is quite common. People mistreat the elderly because they are needy, because they are helpless.
The deterioration of the human body causes one to become increasingly dependent on others. So the fetal stages of a human being’s life begin with absolute dependence.
The unborn depends on their mother not only in utero but also outside of the womb. The “It’s my uterus” line works about as well as the “It’s my life” line and they both have been working for quite some time.
By saying “It’s my life, I can do what I want,” one embracing a life of autonomy. The heart grows cold and ultimately that autonomy will cost you reality.
Part of being human is to be frail, it is to accept our weakness. It is to acknowledge that your independence came with a price. Someone had to give you food in utero, someone had to give you food outside of utero in order for you to reach a stage in life where you knew how to shovel food in your mouth on your own.
The fully dependent child didn’t have a choice whether it would become familiar with the walls of someone else’s uterus.
Just because people are dependent and require others around them to sacrifice some of their autonomy, doesn’t mean that people are ever disposable.
It would be inhumane to dispose of all the elderly in society due to their dependence on someone to care for them.
It is also a great injustice to dispose of unborn human beings because they are dependent on someone else.
No Strings Attached 