Regulating Abortion Thoughts in 2x17

[eektruffle]

So while watching “The Captain’s Hand” again last night, K and I got into a very heated debate about the issue of abortion in terms of what wins out, individual rights or the needs of the whole. So I decided to enumerate some of the arguments instead of studying of a medical school test I have this week. I’m sure there are more that I haven’t

Comments

[nyuszi]

first of all, lemme just say that this was a very interesting post. and well thought out.

and while i agree, i have three major nitpicks:

1. what i think RDM wanted in the end was to make US think about the issue. come to think of it, this is not only the fleet's problem. it's an issue right here, right now. i believe what he intended in the end was to give us food for thought, not offer a solution to the problem. there is no solution.

2. these ppl are desperate. roslin is desperate. there's 48.000 ppl left in the whole universe (as far as they know FOR SURE), and just consider how many of those are old, sick, or too young to have children. also, a good chunk are in the military. you can't be pregnant AND fly a viper. also, what's the ratio of women to men? a woman can have 1 child(maybe 2/3 if she has twins) per year. let's say there are 24.000 women in the fleet. and no one will want 10 children, that's for sure. how many can bear children? age matters (ideally you'd want women between 17 and 35). so does health (you don't want sick children, so someone with a serious health problem should forgo reproduction). how many of these women will bring the pregnancy to full term (lack of proper food suply, cylon attacks, internal strugle). i am not saying that banning abortion was GOOD, i am just saying that it was a decision born out of desperation.

3. roslin made a decision against her own conscience. which shows that she is aware of the fact that what she has done is NOT RIGHT. plus, by both banning abortion, but allowing the girl to have hers, she managed to piss of the entire fleet. interesting situation.

anyways, sorry about the extra long comment...

[eektruffle]

1. I do agree that RDM most likely placed the context of abortion into the program to make it thought provoking. In his past Podcasts, he's mentioned that he wants to challenge viewers and to make them think and grapple with issues that are current in todays world. I think it's awesome for an episode to generate so much debate and provoke so much thought. That is exactly why I love the show so much and what I've come to expect from the show along with possible PILOT love. hehe. Anyhow, I'm questioning not just how RDM dealt with abortion but how our society deals with it where what right does it give one person to tell another what to do with their body. Abortion, should be and is a personal decision and while everyone is completely entitled to their opinion, you don't have the right to impose your opinion on others.

2. I understand the argument to ban abortion. But you bring up the point yourself, the health of the child and the mother are important. In terms of health, how safe and nurtured do you think a child would be growing up in such an uncertain time. And with lack of resources, in good conscience, how could anyone bring in life into a world with such hardship and uncertainty at this point in the voyage. Also for children being born to woman who never wanted that child, how will that child grow up? Bringing a child into the world is more than just a number on a board in my humble opinion.

3. I think Mary Mcdonald did an amazing job in that scene, where she shows how torn she is in making that decision. Maybe it's my idealism that's just in overload but I feel as though there might have been a better way. Not sure, maybe you can't do it in the context of a 40 minute show with 19? episodes in one season? But it's thought provoking which I'm really enjoying :o)

And I totally appreciate the long comment!!!