When Wanting Fame Means Having an Abortion [Daniel]

 In the UK there has been a number of recent cases that reflect poorly on the abortion industry. One case in point is wannabe celebrity Josie Cunningham who became 'famous' after receiving free breast enlargements on the NHS which was a controversy in itself. However, it has recently come to light that she plans to have an abortion (at 18 weeks) because in her own words... “An abortion will further my career. This time next year I won’t have a baby. Instead, I’ll be famous, driving a bright pink Range Rover and buying a big house. Nothing will get in my way.”. She was recently given the opportunity to appear on celebrity Big Brother but when their interest waned on hearing she was pregnant she decided that her dreams of fame and fortune were more valuable than the life of her unborn child.

The Cult of Celebrity

 In another demonstration of the cult of celebrity Josie Cunningham argues that her quest for fame should not be risked by giving birth to her baby. Quite rightly this has caused uproar in the British media and presents a further challenge for pro-choice reasoning. After-all if the unborn are not morally valuable how much should the reason really matter? If the early human fetus isn't sentient, self-aware, conscious or a continuing subject of experience why should the reason matter, especially if most reasons for abortion are effectively utilitarian (to promote the best consequences i.e. to maximise happiness etc). If Josie thinks having an abortion will promote the best consequences for her and if her unborn child is only instrumentally valuable shouldn't she be free to do so? That's the reality of much of the Pro-choice reasoning.

The Success of Dehumanising Language in the UK

 The way in which Josie talks about her unborn child as if they are something disposable and fickle exposes how successful the dehumanising of the unborn has been in the UK. The maternal relationship is now seen as something tentative and conditional. The unborn must meet societies standards of normalcy before they are allowed to continue their existence, that is providing they come at the right time.

Contemporary Western Values

 Francis Schaeffer once said that the two values of middle-class America were affluence and personal peace and I think they're also applicable in the UK, and you can see these values reflected in Josies' reasoning. By affluence Schaeffer meant the acquisition of things and more things, that's why Josie wants her pink Range Rover and big house, if her unborn baby gets in her way to achieving those ends (utilitarian reasoning) its the unborn baby who loses. Personal peace simply means wanting your own lifestyle undisturbed regardless of the effects on others and in this case the unborn functions as a disturbance to her personal peace. 

 Unfortunately when those values are combined with the uncritical dehumanising of the unborn there will only be outrage at the reasons for abortion rather than the act itself. I know many people will want to be angry at Josie but she deserves our prayers because as hard as it is to comprehend she is also a victim of the culture of death in which she lives. We can only pray that she does not go through with her planned abortion next week and instead chooses to take seriously the gift of motherhood.