
The House of Atreus
Abortion as a Human Rights Issue
James F. Bohan(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 28. February 1999
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-275-96282-1 (ISBN)
Description
Using clear language and unconventional examples, this book argues that abortion is not merely a medical or religious issue, but one that goes to the very heart of our conception of human rights. It explains that the unborn are living and human beings, that all human beings have a right to life, and that denying the right to life of some weakens the right to life of all. Bohan supports his thesis by pointing to human rights treaties, the Declaration of Independence, and the words of such luminaries as Albert Schweitzer, Frederick Douglass, Pearl S. Buck, Elie Wiesel, and Martin Luther King Jr. He also examines the connection between abortion and the recent push to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia. Bohan explains why the Greek myth of the House of Atreus is an apt metaphor for our abortion-minded society that shows the distinction between abortion and infanticide is arbitrary. While the Supreme Court holds that the 14th Amendment does not protect the lives of fetuses, at the time the Amendment was drafted, American scholars were comparing the mental capacity of Black people to that of a white fetus. Bohan also explores the the common aspects involved in the destruction of the unborn and the destruction of Jews by the Nazis: the roles of dehumanization, euphemism, the medical community, science, idealism, and humane killing, among others.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
549 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-275-96282-1 (9780275962821)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
JAMES F. BOHAN is an attorney in Pennsylvania.
Content
Preface Roe v. Wade Living All Too Human Persons Drawing the Circle The Objections It Is Happening Here Language Aribitrary "Hastening Death" The House of Atreus? Epilogue Selected Bibliography Index