Andrew Sullivan soils himself again

Our own Demosthenes* comes up with his own paralogia:

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THE EVIL OF ABORTION: Here's a touching piece that cuts to the core of why abortion is, in my view, morally wrong. Money quote:

In ancient Greece, babies with disabilities were left out in the elements to die. We in America rely on prenatal genetic testing to make our selections in private, but the effect on society is the same.
Margaret's old pediatrician tells me that years ago he used to have a steady stream of patients with Down syndrome. Not anymore. Where did they go, I wonder. On the west side of L.A., they aren't being born anymore, he says.

We have real debates about sex-selection abortion; if we ever find a gay gene, you can be sure much of the next generation of homosexuals will be aborted; but today, the silent abortion of countless potential human beings who have Down Syndrome is barely discussed. It should be. Note that I'm not saying here that all abortion should be illegal. I'd vote for a law that kept it legal in the first trimester to protect a woman's ownership of her own body and for pragmatic reasons; and I think majorities in most states would agree, if allowed a vote. But it is always wrong. How can it not be?

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Gosh, such a brilliantly selfabsorbed extrusion. Where to begin? Let's use our red pen, it's so much more fitting when grading average papers, don't you think?

THE EVIL OF ABORTION: Here's a touching piece that cuts to the core of why abortion is, in my view, morally wrong. Hey, its great to have morals. Whose morals are you using here? Your self-directed, self-derived sense of right and wrong or the Republican party's sense? I mean, we need a flag as to when you're stamping those distaff feet in that just so fillipy personal view as opposed to the Royal you. Money quote:

In ancient Greece, babies hmm, babies with disabilities were left out in the elements to die. We in America rely on prenatal genetic testing to make our selections in private, but the effect on society is the same. ? Hillsides with dying infants? Thats new to me, but I accept that you're trying some sort of visual entanglement.
Margaret's old pediatrician tells me that years ago he used to have a steady stream of patients with Down syndrome. Not anymore. Where did they go, I wonder. On the west side of L.A., they aren't being born anymore, he says.

We have real debates about sex-selection abortion; if we ever find a gay gene, you can be sure much of the next generation of homosexuals will be aborted hasn't the right already said that Gay is a choice, a preternatural desire for boys to run for homecoming queen and girls to, well, just run; but today, the silent abortion of countless potential human beings who have Down Syndrome is barely discussed I'm confused, are you talking about aborting fetuses or babies with Down's? Aborting babies, now that seems a bit much to me. It should be. Note that I'm not saying here that all abortion should be illegal. I'd vote for a law that kept it legal in the first trimester oh, so its ok to feed the baby to the mountain goats in the first three months, but not after? How do those ownership rights work for a woman? If it takes 90 days to foreclose, is the woman's body sold on the courthouse steps? to protect a woman's ownership of her own body and for pragmatic reasons care to elaborate? I mean, I'm pretty sure the Greeks thought their solution pragmatic; and I think majorities in most states would agree, if allowed a vote. Can we put gay marriage on the same ballot? If we're trusting in the majority and all... But it is always wrong sorry about being late, got that James Dobson book on tape about the Gay lifestyle ALWAYS being wrong. I'm assuming you're using the same logic here right? How can it not be? well, I'm pretty sure society decides what's moral and in what context. Yes, I know, it's simplistic, and you may argue that there are intrinsic values, common thoughts on right and wrong across cultures. In our culture, before wingnuts like you set fire to the feed corn of our civil discourse, we were heading for a basic difference between a FETUS and a BABY. For me, I think the only common worldwide, cultural characteristic is that no cultures eat cockroaches. But here they have an organized political party and get elected to office. Hey! Cock-roaches. In the context of writing about you, that's a double-entrendre! cool!

Just ONE THOUGHT, Which party and their members, of the two extant today, would be MOST likely to suport aborting fetuses with a gay gene?


(* the relevant, in Mr. Sullivan's catchphrase, money quote, in wikipedia. In 346 BC Demosthenes was one of many envoys sent to Philip II of Macedon to create a peace treaty. Upon their return, Demosthenes led the potentially fatal prosecution of his fellow envoys based on the ill reception of the treaty's terms and Philip II's actions immediately prior to its agreement. The prosecution was discredited when politician and envoy Aiskhines disenfranchised Demosthenes' fellow, possibly lead, prosecutor, Timarkhos, by convincing the jury he had prostituted himself to another male while young. Demosthenes was also accused of sexual and gender impropriety. Aiskhines attributed Demosthenes' nickname, Batalos ("arse"), to his "unmanliness and kinaidiā" and frequently commented on his "unmanly and womanish temper", even criticising his clothing: "If anyone took those dainty little coats and soft shirts off you ... and took them round for the jurors to handle, I think they'd be quite unable to say, if they hadn't been told in advance, whether they had hold of a man's clothing or a woman's." (Dover, 1989)