The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

1 November 2005

At your cervix

Lindsay Beyerstein extends a metaphor:

I don't think the religious fundamentalists who oppose the cervical cancer vaccine are going far enough. I think we should be consistent and oppose all medical care that might encourage irresponsible behavior.

Let's start with tetanus shots. Vaccinating people against tetanus implicitly condones carelessness with rusty nails.

I'm not sure where cholera fits into this pattern, but frankly, if I get to the point where I need to be encouraged to behave irresponsibly, I'm probably not going to have any fun at all.

More to the point, if you followed this opposition to its logical conclusion, it would perforce be a Bad Thing were someone to discover, for instance, a 99-percent foolproof cure for genital herpes; the evil miracle drug would have to be suppressed, lest people actually start inserting Tab A into Slot B — as though they ever stopped in the first place. (Persons oriented toward different methods should substitute as appropriate.) I am persuaded that this approach is seriously wrongheaded, though I reserve the right to change my mind should I be stuck in line at the Sav-on and discover packets of Aunt Meg's Vacu-Lyptus Mentholated Abortion Drops sitting there next to the Pamprin.

Posted at 3:33 PM to Political Science Fiction


TrackBack: 11:37 PM, 1 November 2005
» The pro-cancer straw man from Sean Gleeson
What do you think of this logic? Premise: Heart transplants are good. Conclusion: Therefore, a law mandating that everyone must get a heart transplant is also good. It doesn’t quite follow, does it? I mean, just because you agree that some med......[read more]

This kind of nonsense happens over and over in history
when religionists try to tell folks what to do because it's justified in the bible.

Kinda reminds me of the 1847 incident in which a British obstetrician who used the anesthetic chloroform while delivering a baby. The holy men of the Church of England became upset and prohibited the use of anesthetic in childbirth, citing Genesis 3:16: 'God said to woman Eve, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy pain in childbearing. In pain thou shalt bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.'"

Posted by: Ron at 5:35 PM on 1 November 2005

If there's not a prize involved in making a pun out of 'cervix', there ought to be.

Posted by: Mr. Snitch! at 6:48 PM on 1 November 2005

Chaz, I've got Rocky Rococo on line two.

Posted by: McGehee at 10:03 PM on 1 November 2005

How have you gotten yourself involved with that slimy weasel Rococo? (And how do I make my voice do this?)

Posted by: CGHill at 10:11 PM on 1 November 2005

Abortion drops.

That menthol really is a miracle worker.

Posted by: Julie at 10:36 PM on 1 November 2005

Let me get this corn starch out of my mukluks.

Posted by: Mr. Snitch! at 3:10 AM on 2 November 2005

Eve? But everyone knew her as Nancy!

Posted by: McGehee at 7:34 AM on 2 November 2005

I seem to vaguely recall same sort of discussion we had here before...was it about encouraging abortions?

Posted by: Tatyana at 9:26 AM on 3 November 2005