Glenn Beck Compares Abortion to Slavery (Yes, Really)

This week, Glenn Beck went on one of his classic crazy rants on his radio show. This is hardly surprising. Yet, I could not help but be a little shocked at the content of this latest diatribe. The neat trick he pulled is that he managed to offend women, people of color, and, well, people of intelligence all in less than a minute. At least Beck is good at multitasking.

To make sure we're all on the same page here, I transcribed the radio broadcast for you:

"Now, there are certain things like abortion that is killing. That is killing. It’s what I believe. You don’t? Fine. We’ll have that debate. Just like people didn’t think slavery was evil. “Oh no, it’s not really, they’re not really people.” Oh. So we’re using the same argument with the unborn, that they’re not really people. Well, I’ll be happy to have that debate over the next fifty years, seventy years, however long it takes, before people wake-up to, yes, African-Americans were people and an unborn baby is people. There you go. Because I seem to be having the argument with the people who would be totally fine with Soylent Green being people."

Well, Mr. Beck, I'll take your word for it that the only pro-choice people you encounter also happen to be rabid sci-fi fans who believe fictional movie food should be granted human rights. I'd say you need to expand your social circle — probably something you should do anyway — but, okay. However, today is your lucky day! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Roxy MtJoy, I'm pro-choice, and until an hour ago, I didn't even know what Soylent Green was.

Let's debate, shall we, about abortion being equatable to slavery. I'll take the con position. First, kudos to you for recognizing that African-Americans "were" people. Very true. Interesting note: they still are. It is easy to tell African-Americans (and people of all races) are people because they walk like people, talk like people, look like people, etc. They are fully-formed, living, breathing, thinking human beings. That isn't up for discussion.

You know something that isn't a fully-formed, living, breathing, thinking human being? A fetus. It certainly has that potential (usually), but a fetus is not a person. In its earliest form, a pregnancy is just a few cells with some potential. A fetus cannot survive outside the womb until after 28 weeks (the third trimester).

You know who can survive out in the world, who is a a person? A pregnant woman. A real, live woman who may have been raped or abused. A woman that, for whatever reason, may not be financially, physically, or emotionally capable of being pregnant for nine months, let alone of raising a child. A woman who might be shamed or persecuted (or worse) for her choices. Women who must provide for themselves and their families. So, you see, women are people and this too isn't up for discussion.

It is amazing to me how people rush to give rights to some special cells, but ignore the woman they are found in. I cannot understand how some undeveloped cells can be considered a person. If a fertilized egg is really the same as a man or woman, why do so many in vitro fertilization clinics throw them out on a regular basis? Why isn't Beck saying they are killers? I guess it is much more fun to spend one's time equating the enslavement of African-Americans in the United States for a couple of centuries to modern women exercising their own bodily autonomy.  It is ironic, don't you think, that Beck misses the obvious parallel: In order to end a practice he finds similar to slavery, he'd like to force women to remain pregnant against their will.

Photo credit: david_shankbone