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Deciphering the president on human-animal hybrids (he means abortion)

2006.02.11 — Culture | George W Bush | Law | by BB Rodriguez

George W Bush

State of the Union address. [source]

In his state of the union address last week, the president went out of his way to condemn something that we all fear: human-animal hybrids. It was a weird moment, and one that political humorists have been having a field day with (doesn't he know that hybrids get great gas mileage?). But the meaning veiled behind this odd turn of phrase is deep with portent. He's dropping the green flag on the race to ban abortion.

The president's words were typically opaque:

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research—human cloning in all its forms ... creating or implanting embryos for experiments ... creating human-animal hybrids ... and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our Creator - and that gift should never be discarded, devalued, or put up for sale.

He's dropping the green flag on the race to ban abortion.

He spoke these words immediately after congratulating Sandra Day O'Connor for retiring... and making room for his second appointee to the Bush Court—I mean Supreme Court. And those words followed immediately after words admonishing judges not to "legislate from the bench," as they had—to pick a random example—in the case of Roe v. Wade.

First, the president's words "recognize the matchless value of every life" are an obvious reference to pro-life philosophy. You don't think he regards the lives of convicted murderers as having matchless value do you? Not with 155 executions under his belt.

Junior went on to ask Congress to ban "the most egregious abuses of medical research" and then enumerate them:

  1. Human cloning in all its forms... including stem cell research
  2. Implanting embryos for experiments... I don't know who does this anyway
  3. Human-animal hybrids... scientists really are trying to create hybrid animals that can provide replacement blood and organs to humans
  4. Buying, selling, and patenting human embryos... I think he means patenting human genes here, or maybe patenting human embryo cloning processes or maybe even patenting human embryo-related program activities

The president is very close here to condemning in vitro fertilization....

Keep in mind that these are just the most egregious abuses. There are, by extension, other abuses... like abortion. The president laid this out by saying: "Human life is a gift from our Creator—and that gift should never be discarded, devalued, or put up for sale."

Who exactly is "discarding" human life? The cloners? Stem cell researchers? The president is very close here to condemning in vitro fertilization, which generally ends with several frozen embryos that are unnecessary after a pregnancy has finally occurred. But he definitely is condemning abortion.

Take these two things together—we have a fresh new conservative Supreme Court and discarding human life is wrong—and the implication becomes clear. The president is suggesting that the time has come for states to take another shot at banning abortion.

Should they? That's another argument.

 

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