Sophist's Choice

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jul 25, 2005

Dawn Eden has an interesting post on those leisured but deeply committed ministers who serve as chaplains for Planned Parenthood -- a position equivalent to the job of Chief Rabbi for the Waffen SS. In the article cited, United Methodist minister and national PP chaplain Ignacio Castuera tries his hand at moral theology:

Take a single parent, mother of four with limited means, posed national chaplain Castuera. Say the pill failed. Or the condom broke. "Is a fetus valuable? Yes, of course it is," Castuera said. "Is the fetus as valuable as a mother with four children?" What if she can’t afford another child?

Good question, Reverend. So take it one step further. Suppose a single mother, having four children in her family, can only afford three? Is she permitted to kill one of her offspring as an economy measure? If so, who decides which of the four gets the chop, and on what basis? If not, how do you continue to justify her prerogative to eliminate Fetus Number Five?