Asking The Right Question

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've got a little more of Alyce's adventure to share with you, today! Enjoy! :-)

Excerpt from sci-fi satire novel:
"You're right, this is a complicated debate," said Squid-boy.

I shook my head. "No, it's not. Some people like to make it complicated, but it's a much simpler question than the one they're asking."

"How so?"

I gestured at the robots that were poised to scream at the other robots. "A lot of people like to make this into a question about when life begins. But that's not the question, at all. You can have that debate, and it's a fine intellectual exercise, but it's immaterial to this issue."

"What is the question, as you see it?" asked Yax.

"The one I told you before. Who gets to control whether a person has to give of their body to aid the survival of another person?"

"Interesting. Why?"

"Because this," I pointed at the demonstration, again, "isn't about making people who don't want to terminate their pregnancies do so, though that is another facet of the debate that we haven't talked about, yet. But, this is about whether or not the government should force people to loan their bodies out for nine months, jeopardizing their own health in the process, whether they want to, or not."

"That seems like a complicated question, in and of itself," observed Squid-boy.

I nodded. "It would be if we as a society hadn't for all practical purposes already decided it."

"I'm confused. I thought this," Yax gestured at the exhibit, "was still being debated by the people in your society."

"It is. But only because they refuse to apply the same standard that's applied to everyone else to pregnant women."

"Interesting. Please explain."

"Gladly. In our society, people can't be forced to donate their organs to other people. If someone dies and their organs could be used by someone who is still living, their organs can't be taken unless they agreed to it before they died or the person making decisions for them at their death agrees to it. Otherwise, no matter how much someone else might need their organs or how perfect their organs might be for transplant, their organs go with them either to be buried or cremated."

"That seems like a waste."

I shrugged. "A lot of people think so, and they might be right, but that's what the law requires. Also, if a parent has a child who is sick or injured and needs an organ transplant, the parent can't be forced by the government to give their organ to their child, even if it’s a perfect match for donation and even if donating their organ won't substantially negatively impact their own health. A parent can choose, of their own free will, to donate their organ to their child, but it can't be taken from them by government mandate."

"Even when it comes to blood donation, the same principle applies. Our hospitals are perpetually low on their supply of donor blood, but the law still requires that blood donations be made voluntarily. Even though many people's lives depend on their receiving a transfusion of donor blood, if injury or illness causes them to lose too much of their own. And even though enough blood can safely be taken from a healthy, adult donor to save another person's life, with minimal pain and inconvenience to the donor. And even though the volume of blood that's extracted can and will be replaced by the body of a healthy, adult donor within a matter of weeks with no lingering deficit. Still, the government cannot force anyone to donate blood against their will."

"So, how does it make sense that the government would be allowed to dictate to pregnant women that they must donate the use of their bodies to a fetus, whether they want to or not, simply because they are pregnant women? Why should pregnant women be granted less right to self-autonomy than we allow corpses?"

"Put that way, it doesn't make sense, at all," answered Yax.

"Then why do so many people in your society continue to insist on restricting the rights of women?" asked Squid-boy.

I sighed. "Because people who do things like this," I pointed at the robots holding signs, "usually aren't reasonable. Even those who mean well, who are otherwise good people, and who think they are only trying to save lives refuse to consider the matter rationally. And for the people who aren't generally good people, well, it can get pretty ugly."

"How much uglier can it get than this?" asked Yax. He pointed at a particular sign-holding robot that had grabbed the shirt of one of the robots trying to get into the clinic and used his grip to pull her closer to him and out of the line of robots trying to get past the fence. He had shoved his sign into her face and his teeth were bared in a hateful snarl. The expression of fear displayed by the other robot's features was incredibly life-like.

I grimaced. "Oh, sugar, it gets much worse than this."