You can't make this up:Mark Theissen, mega-fan of torture, has penned an
op-ed about - get this - pain.
But not the pain a adult might experience while being tortured. No, it's the issue of what pain (if any) a fetus might experience. Presumed abortion-related pain was part of the reasoning behind Nebraska's just-enacted law banning abortions after 20 weeks.
Thiessen doesn't come out and outright defend the Nebraska law. But he clearly tilts in favor of it and ends his essay with:
... the consensus will continue to grow that pre-born babies are indeed human beings, deserving of our love, our compassion and, most important, our protection.
But apparently there should be no compassion or protections for suspects picked up in the chaos of war.
posted by Quiddity at 4/20/2010 12:54:00 PM
What if a fetus feels pain during intercourse? Assault and battery?
As absurd at it seems, his essay is entirely consistent with right-wing practice and theory. Barney Frank summarized it thus:
"Life begins at conception and ends at birth."
So it is perfectly moral, legitimate, and even wise and benevolent to torture people to death--even though they might be innocent. It is also the greatest of crimes against humanity for women to have sex without consequences, and we must do everything humanly possible to ensure that unwanted pregnancy (along with STDs) remains as a deterrent to the female sex drive.
