jeudi, décembre 16, 2004

Vasectomies Banned in U.S. (in Related News, Vikings to Face Chiefs in Superbowl XXXIX)

On my way to work this morning, I came up with an analogy that I thought I would vet here.

What if the U.S. government banned vasectomies?

Think about it this way. It would amount to preventing approximately half of the population from engaging in a procedure regarding their reproductive rights and their reproductive future. The government could use religion or morality as a basis for this ban. The government could then regulate men's bodies in the same way some would have it regulate women's bodies, and people who needed the procedure for medical reasons (partner's health cannot support an additional pregnancy for example) could just tough it out and hope for the best.

Do you think it would ever lead to men going to back alleys for vasectomies performed by hacks who don't follow recognized sterilization protocols?

Logic buffs are asking, what about the law of the excluded middle? Aren't you essentially arguing that a statement that is not false (the government should not control the reproductive destinies of its citizens) must always be true? Yes, of course, this is a weak analogy. And yes, while we're at it, this whole argument is reductio ad absurdum.

Let me officially recognize that the big difference between abortion bans and vasectomy bans is the fetus. Vasectomies are distinguishable from abortions because vasectomies are intended to prevent pregnancies and not to terminate them. And I don't mean to be dismissive here, but I wanted to focus on some other aspects of the great debate. The idea of the government telling me what I can and cannot do with my body is not absurd. It's frightening. How might we respond if the government decreed that henceforth there will be no more C-sections?

I've always felt that science would solve the abortion debate (and it's getting close with the post-coital pill which prevents an unfertilized egg from dropping (a no brainer) or prevents a fertilized egg from implanting itself in the womb (not so much a no brainer for foes of reproductive rights)).

At any rate, if Roe v. Wade (note photo of ponderous woman on link) is overturned, I think, out of fairness, vasectomies should be banned for all men. Let's go ahead and ban hair implants for men too. Oh, and while we're at it, let's go ahead and ban boxing. Or am I getting greedy?