Fox won’t air Family Guy abortion episode
For only the 2nd time since it began airing in 1999, the controversial animated sitcom Family Guy has had an episode canceled by parent company Fox.
The 1st stifled episode, censored in 2000 but later aired in 2004 and available on DVD, was “When you wish upon a Weinstein,” considered anti-Semitic.
Now Fox has censored “Partial terms of endearment,” an episode about abortion, storyline unknown.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane revealed the controversy on July 25 at the comic book convention Comic-Con. According to Monsters and Critics…
Riding high off its respectability of an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series, MacFarlane and the rest of the Family Guy panel teased future episodes, and the episode which will most likely not air, where Mila Kunis’ Meg gets raped in prison, dubbed the “abortion episode.”
“Twentieth Century Fox, as always, allowed us to produce the episode and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f-cking death of this,'” MacFarlane said.
MacFarlane, who signed a $100 million deal with Fox earlier this year, later thought better of biting the hand that feeds him and backtracked, according to The Life Feed:
When asked for further comment, MacFarlane e-mailed a statement: “Clearly my sarcasm doesn’t come across in print. I completely support whatever decision Fox makes. We were allowed to take a crack at this controversial story and that’s enough for me.”
Well, here is the decision MacFarlane must “completely support,” according to a Fox statement posted by TV Guide July 29:
Fox will not air the ‘Partial Terms of Endearment’ episode of Family Guy, but we fully support the producers’ right to make the episode and distribute it in whatever way they want.
Most interesting was pro-abort trepidation re: Fox’s decision. Wrote Jezebel:
Surely the episode will fit right into the other hilarious takes on women that Family Guy is so fond of, like, say, rape jokes, or shooting prostitutes as a form of “community service,” or punching them in the face as they cry, “I don’t understand! What did I do wrong?” You know, really hilarious stuff.
There were few details offered about the content of the episode, but given the show’s penchant for political incorrectness – it has in the past featured a character wearing a McCain/Palin button on an SS uniform, among other flourishes – it’s unlikely Planned Parenthood would use the episode in a PSA anytime soon.
But on the other hand pro-aborts are frustrated by broadcast entertainment’s predominant abortion taboo of the last 2 decades. Wrote Amanda Marcotte:
If you want a textbook example of how systemic sexism works, the taboo about portraying abortion on TV will suffice. It’s the most common outpatient procedure in the country, and yet we write it off as fringe. There’s only 694k open heart surgeries a year on average, 600k hysterectomies, and 193k hip replacements a year – but there’s 1.2 million abortions performed every year.
But I’ll bet you could find more people who claim they don’t know anyone personally who’s had an abortion than make the same claim about hysterectomies, heart surgery, or hip replacement. Of course, they do know someone who’s had an abortion, most likely, but she’s mum about it, because of this taboo against speaking about it. And that troubling taboo creates ridiculous situations where shows like Family Guy that get away with pretty much anything can’t do a show about abortion.
And Sarah Seltzer at RH Reality Check:
TV has created this bizarro world where a choice that most American women would consider strongly after an unintended pregnancy is all but erased.
It’s a damning silence. And that silence is why jokes about abortion, even if they’re off-color, are different from other types of misogynist jokes (specifically rape jokes). Yes, the proliferation of rape jokes can do damage by trivializing a horrible and all too accepted crime. But conversely the lack of abortion jokes creates this hyped-up atmosphere of tragedy and controversy around something that is quite common and needs to be discussed more. Even if Seth McFarlane and the Family Guy team failed miserably to be funny or edgy in their attempts to milk humor from abortion, even if they were crass and sexist, I’d hope the episode would be an opening salvo for more comics, artists and others to talk about this reality in women’s lives that, like all realities, has to contain fodder for humor.
No it doesn’t. The interesting phenomenon is that the longer legalized abortion is with us, the more unfunny and tabooed it becomes. This indicates an increasing unease by everyone – even liberal Hollywood – with abortion. Ultrasounds show abortion kills children. Post-abortion mothers say abortion leaves deep scars. And how many silent post-abortive fathers – including writers, producers, and directors – know that to be true as well.
Not many cultural experiences grow touchier as time goes on. Usually there is the opposite effect.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
It’s funny- just yesterday my wife was asking me about things in one’s life (and mine in particular) that do not have as their ends the glory of God, as everything in one’s life should. I mentioned that I had sort of been thinking that my watching of Family Guy might fall under that category. Well, now I know. Time to get rid of all my Family Guy DVDs.
Abortion jokes?!
Bobby, we’re right there with you.
I suppose that if someone supports making rape jokes or shooting prostitute jokes, then there’s nothing wrong with abortion jokes.
Misogyny sucks. And I’m not even normally the type to have a victim-complex, but this steps over the line of basic decency.
I hate it how people are okay joking about abortion because it will break the “taboo” and it makes me realize that the poor women who have abortions probably hate them for trying to make this into comedy. I know that that sounds wrong, but when people want to make abortion a good thing, they’re essentially kicking women when they’re down.
“It’s the most common outpatient procedure in the country, and yet we write it off as fringe.”
Amanda,
Please continue to broadcast the first half off that sentence loudly and clearly. Many people haven’t a clue that abortion is so prevalent. Maybe I’m missing something, but, IMHO, if abortion were being “written off as fringe” in this country, this episode’s airing would be a non-story.
I guess it will be OK to make abortion jokes when people will also find racist jokes or jokes involving handicapped or terminally ill people acceptable and funny.
Certainly the baby in the womb or women scarred by abortion will find nothing funny about such “jokes”.
It’s incredible how pro-aborts want to change our very human nature to try to justify an unnatural and repulsive act.
Good for you, Bobby!
BTW, how’s Gianna adjusting to the new baby?
While I am not a fan of Family Guy, like most men with flipper in hand perusing the evening TV offerings, I catch a few minutes of things that seem of interest if I happen upon them at the right time. Such was the circumstance when the principal character–I guess it is the father–was heavily engaged in a conflict with the HR person at his company. The issue was illegal immigration and he wanted the HR guy to impose procedures at the firm that would require proof of citizenship.
Being very proud of himself he told his mother about what he was trying to accomplish and she dropped the bombshell that when she was carrying him she went to Mexico for an abortion, which failed, and he was born there. She of course never bothered to get papers for him as a U.S. citizen.
The scene in Mexico was what caught my eye. She went to a building, on the front it said “Planned Parenthood” and when inside they had her hanging by her wrists with ropes and they hit her stomach with rods–this, I guess is humor–and the live baby dropped.
Family Guy is such a bizarre show. I feel like 60% of their jokes are just plain stupid, 20% are offensive, 10% are funny, and 10% are legitimately hysterical. It was the rape jokes that finally got me to boot the show off my Tivo, but to be honest I found myself relieved to have a reason, because I so rarely enjoyed it. That stupid chicken fight sequence joke STILL bores me just to think about in retrospect.
Of course, those precious few legitimately funny jokes are among the ones I still find myself repeating to this day. But I had to watch several episodes to get one of those truly funny moments.
I’ll always be a Simpsons girl at heart.
And how would one of those jokes start? “Hey did you hear the one about the partial birth abortion the other day?”
Unbelievable concept to say the least.
Strange that the pro-abort media and Hollywood types would complain about a silence they have created through their lies and deception. If there were millions of proud, confidently unaffected post abortive women out there, we would be hearing from them regularly. There is plenty of post abortion discussion and support coming from the Pro Life side, it just gets largely ignored by the MSM. A woman can feel just as alone after her abortion as she did before it, even more so. How can she turn to the abortion industry for support? The pro-abortion platform does not include information and support about post-abortive issues that supposedly do not exist. So she suffers in silence or quietly buries the feelings down deep or remains emotionally detached from the whole thing. The pro-aborts probably won’t want to discuss this either: the tendency for women aborting multiple times to seek out new abortion mills each time so as not to return to the same clinic and admit they did it again. I’ve heard that story from CPC counselors.
I’ve never liked “Family Guy” ~ it’s really offensive to me and I’d never let my little grandson watch such crap. Abortion is NOT healthcare ~ it’s MURDER. Amen!
Family Guy is crap, I caught my son watching this trash one time and I couldn’t believe the language in this cartoon.
what junk. It doesn’t belong on TV.
IT’S HARD TO GIVE UP, BB!
Although, it’s gotten consistently less and less funny to me since Mr. MacFarlane got his panties in a wad after Bush JR. won his second term. I mean, I can enjoy a good chuckle about myself now and again, but really, I can only stand so much brow-beating about my political affiliation. It’s the same reason I quit watching The Daily Show and Colbert (that last one stung when I removed it from my life. I still love you, Stephen!). I’ll enjoy a good joke about my people now and again, but after awhile, the “jokes” were coming more and more quickly, and became less and less funny. Eventually they started taking a personal and angry tone, and then I quit laughing.
I do find myself tempted to watch, and sometimes, I do. But it doesn’t take me long to remember why I quit.
X, might I recommend Redeye on Fox News?
It comes on at 3 in the morning, but you can watch the episodes online.
Greg Gutfield is awesome and the rest of the crew is pretty funny too. It’s completely absurd, but fun.
I think it would be up your alley.
You won’t like hearing me say this, but the Family Guy is just about my favorite TV show.
Yes, it’s crass,tasteless, wildly irreverent, etc, but it’s also just about the funniest comedy show that’s ever been on television.
And it makes fun of everything and everybody in a totally non-partisan way. It pokes fun of both conservative and liberal sacred cows .
Sure the Simpsons is fun, but the Family Guy delivers the belly laughs .
And please don’t call pro-choice people pro-aborts. That’s a highly misleading and unfair description .
And remember, pro-choicers don’t like the term “pro-life”. To them, those who oppose abortion are anti-choice,not pro-life.
And also remember that the real culture of death is conservatives and the anti-abortion movement, because making abortion illegal only increases the number of abortions and causes many,many women to die needless deaths.
Robert, I disagree with family guy being the best at the potlitical snark. I think that award goes to South Park. (Yes, I like south park, I didn’t think I would, but it really does point out the absurdities of both sides)
Also, please PLEASE stop with all of your baseless ramblings. Making abortion illegal would not result in mass death and hysteria. Look at Ireland.
Abortion related deaths were already going down prior to Roe. In fact, there were more abortion deaths in the year after Roe than the year before.
Stopping the legalized murder of unborn children is not going to result in mass deaths. I would love for you to actually come on here with one peice of evidence for any of your claims. I wont hold my breath.
Robert,
“And please don’t call pro-choice people pro-aborts. That’s a highly misleading and unfair description .
And remember, pro-choicers don’t like the term “pro-life”. To them, those who oppose abortion are anti-choice,not pro-life.”
LOL. You must be joking. Who cares about feelings? You are either for abortion or against it. There really is no middle ground, just fence sitting.
Robert,
The abortion rate in this country SKYROCKETED after abortion was legalized. Ninety percent of women who get abortions report on surveys that they WOULD NOT GET AN ABORTION IF IT WERE STILL ILLEGAL.
Not only that, the VAST majority of pre-legalization abortions were done on the sly by legitimate physicians. And so-called “safe and legal” abortion is still killing women with a certain degree of regularity. Check out the Cemetery of Choice at the RealChoice blog (www.realchoice.blogspot.com) for specific proof of this. There should be a link on the right-hand side of the page if you scroll down that says “Cemetery of Choice”. There is also a LOT of enlightening information on there about what’s really going on in the abortion industry as well as the truth behind all the pro-abortion hype you seem to believe (including the oft-repeated baloney about “health of the mother” abortions). I used to believe it like you did until I gradually found out the real truth behind all this.
And the term “anti-choice” is more misleading than you claim the term “pro-abortion” is. Pro-lifers are all for choice – you have the choice to either drop your pants and spread your legs, or not. That’s your choice. For people who CHOOSE to do that anyway and get pregnant, or for the ones that were raped and didn’t have a “choice”, now that they are pregnant they have the CHOICE to either raise the baby themselves or give the baby to a loving, adoptive couple to raise. There are plenty of loving homes out there for children, and plenty of options to CHOOSE from – you could do an “open adoption”, for instance, which is one where the birth mother still has contact with her child and has a good relationship with the adoptive parents. Killing the baby should never be a valid “choice”, any more than it is a valid choice to kill your grandma because she’s inconveniencing your life.
By contrast, the term “pro-abortion” fits most people who self-identify as “pro-choice” perfectly. If you don’t believe me, then walk up to one and tell them that abortion is morally wrong. Then you get to hear 1,001 excuses why abortion is “good for women”, “good for society”, and/or “better for the child”. They’ll make every excuse in the book IN FAVOR OF ABORTION. That makes them pro-abortion.
Excellent comment army wife!!
Robert,
What say ye??
::crickets::
I think that Robert Berger forgets that watching the destruction of illegal abortion is watching, wouldn’t you know, the destruction of abortion.
We know about the women who died of abortion and continue to die of it- though it wasn’t a massacre as you keep hoping it was and would be- and that would be why we hate abortion…
You have to be truly full of hatred against women to see abortion killing women throughout history, to see interviews in documentaries of women who have lost their daughters to infanticide, and still see nothing wrong with abortion. You don’t have to be such a misogynist, really. I think that people have tried to be nice but your nastiness and up and out bigotry is just getting impossible to ignore.
Hi, Army_Wife!
Your mentioning how bigots say, “Well, what we’re doing is good for women and children…if only they’d understand” reminded me so much of a piece that I read on slavery. Normally I don’t compare abortion to slavery- not much anymore anyways, because I can’t help feeling that it makes women feel lousy about themselves when they’re not the problem- but the introduction was basically an outline of everything that pro-life activists hear on a daily basis.
The piece was actually the introduction to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and it doesn’t mention anything about abortion, but it features the same crap that we hear all of the time: the author, Amanda Claybaugh, discusses how many pro-slavery books popped up after Uncle Tom’s Cabin that were supposed to be written from the viewpoints of actual plantation owners and the slaves: all of the slaves in the books endorsed slavery because it was good for them.
It was kind of weird how I’ve heard all of the arguments that slavery advocates used…and I don’t even like looking for them much. Just thought that you ought to check that out. :)
South Park is way better than Family Guy IMO. It’s way more social commentary and a lot less gag jokes. Even though I really don’t like Family Guy, this kind of censorship scares me. If you draw a line in the sand somewhere in regards to what can be touched on it really limits the art. It doesn’t make sense to me why Fox won’t air this. South Park has had mutliple abortion related episodes(though I’m sure there message is to the right of FG’s).
South Park has had very offensive anti Catholic episodes and has profanity (never seen the show, but obviously if its rated TV-MA, it has profanity).
When I was younger, I got mad at my dad for watching the Simpsons, then I watched in my later teens (mostly halloween episodes) and I do own the first 10 seasons on DVD. But after this past season’s premiere, I stopped watching the show. There are only a handful of episodes I like (Deep Space Homer is one).
Posted by: lily at August 3, 2009 7:51 PM
Art? …Seriously?
I’m a writer, so I’m very concerned about censorship, but unless you have a message to send and a skillful one at that (Family Guy hardly accounts), then I don’t see why lines shouldn’t be drawn. I personally wouldn’t mind an atmosphere where people don’t laugh meanly at the tragities of the world. Would you say banning a gross verbal stab at a Holocaust victem was a limitation on art?
South Park is not anti-Catholic. They are equal opportunity offenders. They have mocked every religion and atheism. The idea that some religions are above reproach is discriminatory. The episode you most likely are refering to is Bloody Mary. The episode did not make fun of Catholics, but people who worship statues and Alcoholics Anonymous. The problem with liberals is that they often want to impose their PC standards on everyone else(look at the Mohammed cartoon controversy). How can conservatives do the same thing with what they hold dear and not be hypocrits? We need to laugh at ourselves and respect free speech.
As to me calling Family Guy art, it is. I never said it was good art. I don’t think it’s all that smart or entertaining. That is up for the viewers to decide though. A show that mocked Holocaust victims in a mean way most likely wouldn’t stay on the air very long because of the responses to it. No censorship would be necessary, but abortion is a very timely topic. A lot of people want to see this episode. You don’t have tune in, and you can respond in protest after it airs, but to censor something before people get the chance to judge it for themselves only breeds ignorance and closes off discussion. Political satire and social commentary humor serves a very important role when it comes to public discourse. South Park for example does an excellent job at being the lone voice for libertarian ideals in the entertainment world. I can’t get happy about Family Guy getting an episode pulled because if any controversial episode is censored who’s next? Maybe talk radio? Maybe South Park? Maybe religious programming that isn’t sensitive to non-believers?
“And please don’t call pro-choice people pro-aborts. That’s a highly misleading and unfair description .
And remember, pro-choicers don’t like the term “pro-life”. To them, those who oppose abortion are anti-choice,not pro-life.”
Typical. Don’t call me pro-abort, I don’t like it. And don’t call yourself pro-life, I don’t like it.
You are dead wrong about women dying from legal abortions after Roe v Wade .
The number of women who have died from legal abortions since 1973 is absolutely miniscule .
And remember, there is some risk in any surgical procedure . Far more people die in heart or other surgeries than from legal abortions. People have died from botched appendectomies in hospitals .
But in poor countries , thousands and thousands of women die every year from botched illegal abortions, which could have been prevented if abortion were legal there and contraceptives were available. This is an incontrovertable fact .
The same number probably wouldn’t die in America if the government were foolish enough to make abortion illegal again, but I guarantee you that this kind of death would become much more common .
Anti-abortion fanatics can kill all the doctors they want . People opposed to abortion can protest all they want at women’s health facilities, and they can condemn abortion until they’re blue in the face. Buit they will never stop abortion .
And calling abortion “murder” and comparing it to slavery is just plain ridiculous .
All the anti-choice arguments against abortion are false. They think adoption will stop it .It won’t. They think that private charities can and shopuld provide for the poor and poor pregnant women. They can’t ,at least enough to provide for all in those in need.
They say that there’s no problem with overpopulation, and that all the world’s people would fit into a tiny area. Maybe, but this ignores the fact that there are vast areas of the planet which are totally uninhabitable, and that the resources to feed and house all of humanity are not infinite .
I’m not sure about global warming , but it’s incredibly foolish to deny that the world faces very serious environmental and ecological problems, such as famine, drought, pollution etc which could cause catastrophic conditions in the future .
And to say that contraceptives should be banned and no one should use them is unbelievably foolish . Let’s face it, contraception has prevented countless surgical abortions all over the world, and if it were more widely available, the lives of many,many poor women could be saved .
And I’m still highly skeptical about the link between contraceptives and breast cancer, and there are many other non-contraceptive pills with serious health risks. Saying that women should not use contraceptives because they don’t always work is like saying that people shouldn’t wear seat belts because they don’t always work. Absolutely inane .
Let’s face it; the only way to prevent abortions is to decrease poverty and for people to be careful. Just making it illegal never works . It only makes a bad situation far worse .
You could compare this to arguments for and against the death penalty .
In US states withyout it, murder rates are far lower . It;s similar with abortion .
Lily,
In my humble opinion, I would think the mark of a true artist would be to make something beautiful within perameters. Take old movies for instance (and yes, I watch movies that are fresh from the theaters as well). I think the movie had to be a lot more creative because of the censorship, making it all the more enjoyable!
Alfred Hitchcock, for instance, rarely showed the murder act in his films, yet everytime my family watches them we find ourselves at the edge of our seats in suspense. You see the shadow of the killer, you see the knife on table, you hear the scream or thud, but you don’t see the actual act. Unlike contemporary movies, where you’ll see the person being mutilated. I guess it’s because Hitchcock left the act to our imaginations, that the next scene opens to such broad possibilities, and our minds to such nailbiting suspense.
My point is this: Anyone can make ‘art’ without any perameters whatsoever. However, I believe a true artist is someone inspired enough to produce a masterpiece despite censorship!
Robert: What species of embryo were YOU when your mother was pregnant with you?
A human baby is ALIVE in the womb: heart beat detectable fairly early, movements can be felt in the later part of the 1st trimester/early 2nd trimester. My oldest niece who will be 10 this year was HICCUPING in the womb before she was born. I know, because I felt her hiccup.
Abortion is MURDER/Homicide.
I forgot to say that I think censorship should only be targeted to what is vulgar, profane, or in other words, what is not beautiful; what doesn’t bring out the best in man, and uplift him. Now of course, abortion only hurts people, so that is something that shouldn’t and truly can’t be shown in a positive light.
I know this a controversial, and bizarre foreign film, although I happen to like it, but has anybody ever seen Ordet? I have to warn people that it handles a live birth abortion scene, in the ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ way, but I find the movie rather life affirming, overall. To me, all you have to do is watch that scene and even though you don’t see the actual abortion, you realize it’s the killing of a person. Now if tv shows showed abortion in this way, I wouldn’t see the problem with it. You have to watch it first though, to know what I’m referring to.
Robert,
Poor women dying of illegal abortion around the world is horrible but is no reason to keep abortion legal in the U.S. Poor women around the world have babies because they understand every life to have dignity, no matter what the economic circumstances in their lives. Women who abort are scared and need support from men such as yourself instead of the message that they should terminate a pregnancy.
Robert,
Have you been to one of these countries where thousands and thousands of women are dying from botched abortions each year? Would you please cite statistics from a reputable source?
Are these poor women happier because they have aborted their babies or do they hate the fact that society tells them it’s necessary? I suspect that the happiest families, no matter how poor are the ones who cherish their children instead of seeing each of them as an additional burden.
Real Choice.org is an excellent source of historical data on abortion.
Who gets to decide who is a real artist? Who gets to decide what is beautiful and what is vulgar? What if the vulgarity serves a purpose? Is it the same people who find the Muhammed cartoons unacceptable to publish but are just find with Jesus being mocked?
“What if the vulgarity serves a purpose?”
Such as?
“Let’s face it; the only way to prevent abortions is to decrease poverty and for people to be careful”
——————————————
Careful of what, Robert?
Responsibility for their actions?
Such as in movie’s like Saving Private Ryan(like it would be realistic to have battle scene’s with totally clean language) and Schindler’s List(you really can’t do the historical aspect of it justice without the nudity). As I’ve said before show’s such as South Park serve a very important role when it comes to social commentary. Often a moral is revealed through all the political incorrectness.
“You are dead wrong about women dying from legal abortions after Roe v Wade .
The number of women who have died from legal abortions since 1973 is absolutely miniscule .”
Citation, please?
“But in poor countries , thousands and thousands of women die every year from botched illegal abortions, which could have been prevented if abortion were legal there and contraceptives were available. This is an incontrovertable fact .
The same number probably wouldn’t die in America if the government were foolish enough to make abortion illegal again, but I guarantee you that this kind of death would become much more common .”
Any information to back this up?
“And calling abortion “murder” and comparing it to slavery is just plain ridiculous .”
Science tells us that life begins at conception. Here’s what evidence looks like, since you seem to be having trouble grasping that:
“Almost all higher animals start their lives from a single cell, the fertilized ovum (zygote). … The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual.” (Carlson, Bruce M., Patten’s Foundations of Embryology, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996, p.3.)
And…
“At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun…. “[Considine, Douglas (ed.). Van Nostrand’s Scientific Encyclopedia. 5th edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1976, p. 943]
So, if science tells us that life begins at conception, and abortion is the intentional destruction of that life…how is it ridiculous to call abortion murder?
As for the comparison to slavery, slavery was often justified by claiming that the African slave was not actually a person and therefore had no rights. Historically speaking, in cases such as slavery, the Holocaust, and the slaughter of Native Americans, personhood is arbitrarily defined based on the desires of the powerful. In the case of abortion, personhood is arbitrarily defined to justify the killing of innocent human beings. A ridiculous comparison? I think it’s quite relevant.
“All the anti-choice arguments against abortion are false.”
What specific arguments are you referencing? And what about them is incorrect?
“They think adoption will stop it .It won’t.”
Even though adoption offers a a positive option for many circumstances, it is true that it cannot completely eliminate the struggles of women facing an unplanned pregnancy. Even so, how does this justify the destruction of innocent human life?
“They think that private charities can and shopuld provide for the poor and poor pregnant women. They can’t ,at least enough to provide for all in those in need.”
Again, even though private charity can provide many resources for women facing an unplanned pregnancy, it cannot eliminate all the struggles. Still, how does this justify the destruction of innocent human life?
“They say that there’s no problem with overpopulation, and that all the world’s people would fit into a tiny area. Maybe, but this ignores the fact that there are vast areas of the planet which are totally uninhabitable, and that the resources to feed and house all of humanity are not infinite .”
Corrupt governments are primarily responsible for denying these resources to their citizens. There is a vast amount of available aid coming from the US and other countries, but it is often difficult to actually get the food, medicine and supplies to the needy. This is definitely a problem, but killing unborn children is obviously not the solution.
“I’m not sure about global warming , but it’s incredibly foolish to deny that the world faces very serious environmental and ecological problems, such as famine, drought, pollution etc which could cause catastrophic conditions in the future .”
Er, ok. And this makes a strong case for abortion, how?
“And I’m still highly skeptical about the link between contraceptives and breast cancer, and there are many other non-contraceptive pills with serious health risks. ”
Studies confirm a link between certain contraceptives and breast cancer. What information to the contrary makes you skeptical?
“Saying that women should not use contraceptives because they don’t always work is like saying that people shouldn’t wear seat belts because they don’t always work. Absolutely inane .”
I’ve never heard anyone say that women should not use contraceptives because they don’t always work. Those that are against contraceptives will cite the failure rates as a supplemental argument, but they are generally against it because it creates an unhealthy cultural attitude that separates sex and pregnancy. This can lead to dangerous sexual behavior and irresponsiblity. Those that are not against contraceptives point out the failure rates to reinforce the seriousness of enganging in acts with life-creating capacity. Contraceptions may lower the risk of pregnancy to an extent, but that risk is rarely completely eliminated. It is important that people take this into consideration when making decisions about sex.
“Let’s face it; the only way to prevent abortions is to decrease poverty and for people to be careful. Just making it illegal never works . It only makes a bad situation far worse .”
While it is a worthy effort to decrease poverty and encourage responsibility, the reality is that as long as people are given the option to become ‘unpregnant,’ they will continue to view this as the easier option. It sounds much more simple to have outpatient surgery than to secure resources and devote vast amounts of time and energy for the next twenty years. No one can be allowed to take the life of an innocent human being, no matter how compelling the reason. The fact that women sometimes become pregnant when they have sex is not a problem; the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy are the problem, and these circumstances can be addressed and improved. A civilized society does not advocate the intentional killing of innocent human beings as an attempt to solve problems.
Besides being completely unfunny (seriously, what the heck is funny about a 10-minute cutscene of Peter Griffin beating up a chicken? Or any of the other cutscenes that aren’t remotely related to the episode, or even the actual moment within the episode?), Family Guy is consistently blatantly one-sided, offensive, rude, and just a terrible influence.
I won’t allow it to be on at our house. Not for guests, not for my hubby, not for anyone. Honestly, I’d rather have 2 1/2 men playing on our tv, and I’m quite against that show as well.
But then, we don’t really use the television for tv. We don’t have cable, either. We watch movies and when we do watch tv shows, we stream them online. Keeps our television consumption limited to what actually interests us. ;)
Family Guy makes abortion jokes on a regular basis. The ones I can think of off the top of my head (which are aired on Fox regularly) are an episode where Lois mumbles, “Before I had Meg, I was prolife. Now I’m prochoice.” Another episode shows a woman trying to abort her baby by having her full-term pregnancy paunch beaten with sticks. And yet another episode shows an “Old-Fashioned” abortion clinic in which a line-up of full-term pregnant women climb up steps and then walk off the edge, landing flat on their bellies.