A Matter of Conscience

Robin Marty’s spin on a jailed woman being refused the second dose of an abortifacient, makes me wonder if she has a conscience, or even understands what it means to have one.

The article Robin links to is from Addicting Info; she pulled this excerpt:

A Tampa woman whom we only know as R.W., was raped. She was treated by the rape crisis center, who gave her two emergency contraception pills, one to be taken immediately and one to be taken 12 hours later. When she reported the rape to the police, they uncovered an arrest warrant on R.W. for failure to pay restitution and failure to appear. After she was arrested, a Hillsborough County guard confiscated her second pill, claiming it was against her religious beliefs.

Says Robin:

This isn't just about women denied access when jailed (Although that in itself is problematic -- should a woman fear reporting a crime because she may be arrested? [emphasis is mine]

Should anyone?  Robin apparently thinks women should be exempt from arrest should they, 1) Not pay restitution as ordered by the court, and 2) Not show up for court. Really?  What happened to equality?  What happened to responsibility?  Oh wait, these are feminists we’re talking about.

No, this case also brings to light how those who are "in charge" when it comes to dispensing are able to inflict their own moral beliefs onto someone else. In states like Kansas, which seek to expand conscience clauses well beyond health workers, the putative "rights" if those who wield power are being allowed to trump those of the patient in need.

Or is it that Robin believes people without a conscience, should be able to inflict their beliefs (or lack of) onto someone who does have one?  That’s exactly what it is.

First, I don’t know of any jail that allows prisoners to keep the drugs  they bring in with them, that includes aspirin.  So confiscating the drug was protocol.  Second, if the guard had given the abortifacient to another guard, who in turn gave it to the woman, the primary guard would still be responsible for killing an unborn child.  It’s no different than handing a hammer to someone else to beat a child to death, so you don’t have to live with it on your conscience.

When it comes to conscience, all I can say is, at least pro-lifers have one.

It should be stated that the jailed woman’s rape, which was tragic, did not result in pregnancy.