Marx and Abortion
Marxism and Abortion
A recent article in The Tribune, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, expounded upon the Marxist view of abortion, adding new understanding to the international debate over the rights of the unborn.
“Human Life and Fetal Images,” an essay by Rebecca Albury, appeared in the Australian publication on August 10 of this year. Albury made the following statements about the teachings of Karl Marx and their relationship to the unborn:
A Marxist believes that personality and human value are imparted by the external and economic environment, not by any inherent spiritual value, or even by biological processes.
The fetus, according to a Marxist, becomes a person when he is judged as such by “someone of higher wisdom.” The humanity of the fetus depends upon how the mother perceives the “social relationship” that exists between them. If the mother desires to keep the baby, then she “fantasizes” it into becoming a human being. But, if she does not want the pregnancy, “it is something else entirely.” Her opinion of the fetus thereby denies it of personhood.
“Biological processes,” says Albury, “do not carry automatic moral values as the Right to Life suggests … Human economic, social, and political relationships create moral values.”
According to Albury, “Material conditions of life change, and so do moral values.” This means that, to a Marxist, the unborn baby may be a human being for a time, but may then become depersonified and rendered ‘pre-human,’ all because his or her mother began to think differently about him or her. She adds: “Certainly, many women experience mixed feelings; the fantasy baby may even appear for a while. Women can tell it goodbye forever.”
Dr. John Whitehall, who reported these statements to the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade in his article “Marx and the Unborn Baby,” (September 15, 1988), commented on Albury’s conclusions by saying, “The inhumanity of communism resides in this arbitrary assessment
A recent article in The Tribune, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, expounded upon the Marxist view of abortion, adding new understanding to the international debate over the rights of the unborn.
“Human Life and Fetal Images,” an essay by Rebecca Albury, appeared in the Australian publication on August 10 of this year. Albury made the following statements about the teachings of Karl Marx and their relationship to the unborn:
A Marxist believes that personality and human value are imparted by the external and economic environment, not by any inherent spiritual value, or even by biological processes.
The fetus, according to a Marxist, becomes a person when he is judged as such by “someone of higher wisdom.” The humanity of the fetus depends upon how the mother perceives the “social relationship” that exists between them. If the mother desires to keep the baby, then she “fantasizes” it into becoming a human being. But, if she does not want the pregnancy, “it is something else entirely.” Her opinion of the fetus thereby denies it of personhood.
“Biological processes,” says Albury, “do not carry automatic moral values as the Right to Life suggests … Human economic, social, and political relationships create moral values.”
According to Albury, “Material conditions of life change, and so do moral values.” This means that, to a Marxist, the unborn baby may be a human being for a time, but may then become depersonified and rendered ‘pre-human,’ all because his or her mother began to think differently about him or her. She adds: “Certainly, many women experience mixed feelings; the fantasy baby may even appear for a while. Women can tell it goodbye forever.”
Dr. John Whitehall, who reported these statements to the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade in his article “Marx and the Unborn Baby,” (September 15, 1988), commented on Albury’s conclusions by saying, “The inhumanity of communism resides in this arbitrary assessment