Posted on 12/05/2006 1:32:50 PM PST by Caleb1411
Thanks to C-SPAN, a vital public service, I was able to see and hear on Nov. 8 the two hours of oral arguments at the Supreme Court on one of the most persistently passionate controversies in the nation — partial-birth abortion; or, as its medical practitioners call it, intact dilation and extraction.
What fascinated me throughout the debate — and the reactions of the justices — was, as George Orwell put it, the way language can be, and is so often used, "as an instrument which we shape for our own purposes." Only rarely did any participant speak plainly about the procedure.
In his essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell said, "What is above all needed (in honest speaking) is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about."
During the two hours, I often heard references to "fetal demise." What they were actually talking about, some of us would say, is the killing of a human being.
That plain intent of abortion slipped in briefly when Solicitor General Paul Clement, speaking for the government, said the important issue is whether this form of abortion "is to be performed in utero or when the child is halfway outside the womb."(A child? Where?)
Justice John Paul Stevens quickly interrupted: "Whether the FETUS is more than halfway out," he corrected the solicitor general.
"Some of the fetuses, I understand in the procedure," Justice Stevens added, "are only 4 or 5 inches long. They're very different from fully formed babies."
Babies had again crawled into the discussion — but not for long. The abortion procedure at issue is D&X, intact dilation and extraction, which removes babies from existence. Years ago, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was for abortion rights, nonetheless called this D&X procedure, "only minutes
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Whatever the decision, doctors will still be able to dismember the baby. Yes, the baby.
Justice John Paul Stevens quickly interrupted: "Whether the FETUS is more than halfway out," he corrected the solicitor general.
"Some of the fetuses, I understand in the procedure," Justice Stevens added, "are only 4 or 5 inches long. They're very different from fully formed babies."
It would have been funny, if right there, the Solicitor General had said, "With all due respect, your honor, with that statement alone, it's quite clear where you stand on the issue."
I find my conservatism is rooted in this concept, more than anything else. I am a conservative about the meaning of words. Time and time again, liberals on other forums have decried me as some kind of Neanderthal for taking such a view. I'm just not sophisticated enough, you see, to understand all the nuances of meaning.
Horsecrap. I've been around long enough to have witnessed the destruction of clear meaning by individuals, corporations and government time and time again, in their efforts to circumvent the consequences of the dictionary meaning of words. If words can be slotted to whatever meaning is useful, then laws, contracts and the Constitution have no meaning other than what a robed priesthood deems them to have. Which is why the battles over the Supreme Court have become so vicious - because, with the acceptance of the infinite elasticity of meaning, SCOTUS becomes the final arbiter of all things in our society.
bttt
I'm sorry, what is "btt"?
Who could have guessed he would have gone this way? / sarc
Or, he has "grown".
Okay, now I'm really confused. What does that even mean?
Sorry for my ignorance.
Okay, now I'm really confused. What does that even mean?
Sorry for my ignorance.
Okay, now I'm really confused. What does that even mean?
Sorry for my ignorance.
I'm sorry, did you "say" something?
For simplictiy the term used should be 'human.'
Everyone understands what a human is, and there is no question that an embryo/fetus/baby is a human. It's a scientific certainty.
And that is one reason Hentoff (and I) are pro-life. To not fight dehumanization and murder of a fetus is to not fight dehumanization and murder of all humans.
Bttt means you are posting to a thread to get it back into the latest posts display.
Define the argument and you have won the argument.
I'm picky about the meaning of words also. From conception to week 8 it's called an embryo. From week 9 until birth it's called a fetus. From birth until age 2 it's a baby (a bit longer for liberals) Just use the scientific terms that we all understand and don't cloud the issues.
In normal discourse we stick with english. Fetus is latin for baby.
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