On Abortion, Malta and Tonio Borg

Malta's choice of Tonio Borg for the European Commission is, to make a pun, a blow against choice all over Europe, if only on paper, and most deceivously so. Mr Borg's history on corruption (no, I'm not talking about the Swedish Chancellor of the Exchequer - wish we had that title) is a most disturbing one, even for a southron European country which, as seen in the case of Greece, makes use of the term "corruption" a little further than unappropriate use of public funds for the purchase of chocolate or booze. If the Maltese government has any sense of how bad this will make them look, they will withdraw his candidacy. However, if Malta is to be denied its commissioner on the spurious ground of opposing legal abortion, the island is be like to stand without a representative for the next 150 years or so. When thinking that he opposes women's rights, just imagine what their papers would write of your view of human rights in this context (Infanticides! Infanticides! Embryo-killers in the commission!). Until hearts and, above all, minds alter on this very fundamental issue to the position that embryos are not people and that nobody, under any circumstances, has the right to life - yes, I'm not kidding, how do we really enforce this "right" if it is by all indications to be deprived of everybody? - particularly if dependent upon living a parasitic existence on the body of another, unwilling human being, I'm afraid this will go on and on with far less wisdom and knowledge than hatred and interjections exchanged between the parties ("Babykiller!" "Woman-killer!" I can almost grasp the rhytm).

The departure from the EU of Malta, Poland, Ireland and so forth (all Catholic, it seems) will not benefit the possibilites of resolving this issue from within the European community. Swedish representatives within the European Parliament has barked emblems such as "undemocratic" on Mr Borg's dubious reputation. I wonder what this would make notable founders of the Union such as De Gasperi, Robert Schumann and Konrad Adenauer, one of my relatively few conservative heroes (along with Robert Taft and Cato the Younger), who all famously resurrected democracy after two decades or darkness, inferno and deception. It is said it "wasn't an issue" back then, but that doesn't make their position on abortions any different from Mr Borg's, or Salazar's (whose secular constitution, however, allowed for more exceptions than the Malta of today).

Abortion is a human right. Or, more precisely, part of the greater human right to do and dispose of your body and your cells and whatever organisms that may depend upon them as you please. No one, doctor or not, has a legal obligation to carry out a medical procedure against his or her will, not in defiance with, but as part of that same right. Your hands, ears and mouth are your property. Your employer may expect you to use them in accordance with exterior wishes. The law, I must say, may not, and should not. If, say, a doctor of "faith" (the obnoxious word) was to be prosecuted by court for failing to carry out what he or she, againt my views would consider tantamount to murder, I will sordidly disagree with any sentence passed. To penalize for not executing one's own opinions is, frankly, something I can't countenance.

For some common sense (apparently not so common) arguments on this topic, American Professor, Anarcho-Capitalist and moral philosopher Walter Block essentially rounds up my arguments in favour of legalized abortion (for a non-viable fetus) in this televised six-minute feast. I hate to say it, but I came up with the idea "as long as eviction equates death" before I saw it.

And yeah, Obama won Florida. It seems the majority of states (26+DC to 24) goes with the winner, this and almost every time. A relief, particularly to my hypothetical proposal of having a national referendum on president, with a demand for the plurality of votes and of states, otherwise throwing the election to House and Senate. In a federation, it isn't unreasonable to ask for the winner to be approved by the majority of states. Still, the popular vote needs to be put in the front room, if yet not alone.