In light of the recent Planned Parenthood scandal, and other reasons I'll go more into next week, it is only fitting that I talk about abortion this week. I am pro-life. Very pro-life. In fact, this is the big one; the number one issue for me. Everything else comes second. Why do I feel this way? Well, a number of reasons, but the big one is justice. If we cannot extend the rights and protections outlined in the Constitution to the most innocent and helpless among us, then we deserve neither the prosperity created by the free market system nor the security afforded us by our Second Amendment, strong military, and good foreign policy. Every time I hear some Republican saying that we need to back-burner the abortion debate in order to fix the economy and save the country, I can't help but think, "if it'll cost 4,000+ innocents a day, is it really worth saving?" That's not to say that the other issues aren't important, and in a later post I'll get into why many pro-lifers make a mistake by neglecting those issues, but Life issues are the most important. Without the Right to Life all other rights are meaningless and if we deny that most fundamental of rights to the most innocent, we cannot call ourselves a just society.
In keeping with my tradition of tying conservative issues into geek and pop culture, I'm devoting this post to unintentional(?) pro-life themes in seven different T.V. show episodes. They are in no particular order other than personal preference, so here they are:
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
iZombie; S1 E2; "Brother, Can You Spare a Brain?"
The Show: Warning: Do Not Eat While Watching This Show. Liv Moore was an ambitious young doctor until she was turned into a zombie. Now she works in the morgue for access to brains. If zombies don't eat brains regularly they lose their sapience and revert to the mindless horror movie monsters of traditional zombie fiction. Eating brains gives zombies flashes of their memories which Liv uses to solve their murders.
The Episode: Liv investigates the murder of Seattle's most erotic painter. Also, she encounters the zombie who turned her, a former drug dealer named Blaine.
The Pro-Life Theme: I picked this episode because it's when Blaine starts his racket of turning rich clients into zombies and charging them exorbitant amounts to provide them brains, but really, any episode from here until the end of the season applies here. It is eerie how similar Blaine's business model is to Planned Parenthood's. They both help create their own economy. Blaine's clientele only need his services because he turned them in the first place. Planned Parenthood provides cheap, shoddy quality contraceptives and encourages promiscuous behavior among young people knowing they'll be able to sell them abortions soon enough. They both target underprivileged youth. Most of the brains Blaine procures came from homeless youth he picks up off the street. Planned Parenthood routinely targets minorities and impoverished neighborhoods for abortion and markets to young people. Neither tolerates disloyalty. When two of Blaine's thugs try to steal some of his clients and start their own racket, he shoots them. When one of his clients loses control and kills the delivery boy, Blaine takes a power drill to her head. When another client tries to put an end to Blaine and his murderous enterprise, Blaine puts a bullet in his skull. We don't need to think hard to remember the massive smear campaign Planned Parenthood launched when Susan G. Komen decided to end financial contributions to the abortion giant. Don't even get me started on the slander and vitriol PP spews at brave ex-clinic workers like Abby Johnson who dare to speak out. Finally, they both profit off of killing people.
Steven Universe; S1 E35; "Lion 3: Straight to Video"
The Show: Thousands of years ago the planet was invaded by magic sapient gemstones but were repelled by a rebel faction led by Rose Quartz. Rose and her allies continued to defend the world until she fell in love with a human and gave birth to a son. However, since gems don't reproduce as humans do, she had to give up her physical form to birth him. Now, Steven goes on adventures and fights evil alongside his mother's former comrades.
The Episode: Steven's pet, Lion, keeps sleeping on his face, almost suffocating him in his sleep. But Steven soon realizes that Lion is trying to show him something. Inside his mane is a pocket dimension filled with treasures connected to Rose Quartz. Among these, Steven finds a videotape left for him by his mother.
The Pro-Life Theme: The message Rose left Steven is absolutely heart wrenching. In it she explains what is going to happen to her when she gives birth to him. Much of it is stuff we already knew, but it's the first confirmation that she knew. She knows what's about to happen and, much like a pregnant cancer patient who delays treatment rather than endanger her child, she is both willing and happy to give her life for her son. A perfect example of a mother's love for her unborn baby.
Game of Thrones; S1 E5; "The Wolf and The Lion"
The Show: …Uh…okay…didn't really think this through. How am I supposed to sum up Game of FREAKING Thrones? More crap goes down in a single season than most shows have in their entire run! Um…I guess it's a show about political intrigue set in the high fantasy land of Westeros where various houses of nobility vie for control of the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms it represents. The main houses in season one are Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, and Targaryen.
The Episode: WHAT THE HELL?!!! How is it harder to sum up a single episode than an entire series?! So much happens in this episode! Screw it, I'm just going to cover the relevant portions. Word reaches King's Landing that Daenerys Targaryen, a princess in exile, is pregnant and her son will have a claim to the Iron Throne. King Robert wants her killed, his advisors agree, his right hand and best friend Eddard Stark disagrees and resigns his position of "Hand of the King" over the issue.
The Pro-Life Theme: Eddard Stark is man who has suffered real loss at the hands of the Targaryens. Yet, in spite of this, he can see that Daenerys and her unborn child are innocents in this and that it is wrong to kill them for what they might do. He refuses to order her death even in defiance of his friend and king. It's nice that there's such a strong pillar of morality in this show. I sure hope nothing bad happens to him.
Terra Nova; S1 E1; "Genesis"
The Show: In the mid 22nd century the earth has become inhospitable. Thick layers of smog cover the cities and strict population controls are enforced. However, science has discovered a way to send people to a distant alternate past. This show follows the Shannon family of five as they find a new life in the cretaceous period, but the dinosaurs may not be the biggest threat they face.
The Episode: This pilot episode reveals a dystopian future where the smog is so thick that you can't go outside without a breathing mask and the government enforces a strict 2 child policy (wait, is this the future or China?). The Shannon family is discovered to have an illegal third child, an altercation ensues, and Jim Shannon ends up with an 8 year prison sentence. Two years later his wife Elisabeth visits to inform him that she's been offered the chance to go to Terra Nova, but their youngest, Zoe, can't come. She sneaks him a laser knife and he breaks out to smuggle Zoe and himself through the portal with the rest of their family.
The Pro-Life Theme: This pilot demonstrates the cruelty of China's One Child policy. Also, while it is never stated, it seems reasonable to assume that the Shannons had their third child because they had an unplanned pregnancy and were morally opposed to abortion. So, they chose Life for Zoe.
Over the Garden Wall; Chapter 10; "The Unknown"
The Show: This show was a miniseries of ten eleven-minute episodes and if you haven't seen it yet watch it right now. Seriously, it'll take less than two hours. Go on. I'll wait. Okay, for those of you who ignored my advice, "Over the Garden Wall" follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg, traveling through the woods of The Unknown where they meet a mysterious Woodsman, a talking bluebird, and all manner of strange characters while being stalked by a dark entity known simply as "The Beast."
The Episode: The final installment in the series. Greg has just traded himself to the Beast to save Wirt and now Wirt must rescue his brother from the Beast's clutches. The Beast presents the Woodsman with a sinister offer: Greg half-turned into an Edelwood.
The Pro-Life Theme: For years the Woodsman has been chopping down Edelwoods to keep his daughter's flame lit, but upon seeing the humanity of the Beast's latest victim refuses. This prompts the Beast to inform him that he's "been grinding up lost souls for years," to which the horrified Woodsman replies "I didn't know! I didn't know that this is where the Edelwoods came from!" There's a parallel here with those who support and perform abortions who say they are doing good, noble, and necessary work and may even believe it until they are confronted with the truth and can no long deny the humanity of the unborn or the reality of what they are doing. The Woodsman realizes that his daughter would not want to be saved if it meant killing another innocent child.
Gargoyles; S2 E9,10,11,12; "City of Stone"
The Show: Stone by day, warriors by night. Goliath and his clan of gargoyles were betrayed by the humans they were sworn to protect and frozen in stone by a magic spell. A thousand years later they awaken in modern day Manhattan where they meet new friends…and new enemies.
The Episode: In this four part "tentpole" episode the backstories of two of the show's most compelling antagonists, the human-hating gargoyle Demona and her nemesis Macbeth, are finally revealed. When Demona broadcasts a spell turning all who see and hear it to stone throughout the night, the gargoyles must ally with their nemesis, Xanatos, to break the spell and defeat her. Meanwhile, in both flashback and present, Demona is pursued by the Hunter, a foe from her past. All of this is observed by the mysterious Weird Sisters.
The Pro-Life Theme: A phrase that pops up repeatedly in this episode is "Every life is precious." The Weird Sisters say it to Goliath after he takes down a group of terrorists in the opening. Later, Goliath repeats the line when he comes across the shattered remains of Demona's victims. Finally, when Macbeth is about to kill Demona (and himself for that matter), Goliath tells him, "Death is never the answer. Life is."
Avatar: The Last Airbender; B3 C18,19,20,21; "Sozin's Comet"
The Show: My all time favorite T.V. show, "Avatar" is set in a high fantasy world where there are four nations, each associated with one of the Hellenistic elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Within these nations certain individuals are born with the ability to manipulate or "bend" their national element. Peace and balance between the nations and the Spirit World is kept by the Avatar, the one person who can master all four elements. When the Avatar dies he or she is reborn into the next nation in the cycle. The four nations lived in peace until the Fire Nation launched a massive campaign to conquer the world starting by wiping out the peaceful Air Nomad civilization, since the next Avatar is to be an Air Nomad. However, the Avatar, a boy named Aang, had run away from home and got frozen in an iceberg before the attack occurred. A hundred years later Aang awakens and must master the other three elements in order to defeat the Fire Lord and restore balance to the world.
The Episode: A hundred years ago Fire Lord Sozin harnessed the power of a comet in order to wipe out the Air Nomads. Now, the comet is returning and Fire Lord Ozai intends to use it to wipe out the Earth Kingdom as well. In this epic four part series finale Aang must finally face the Fire Lord in order to save the world, but he faces another conflict as well, a moral conflict. Aang, a pacifist, abhors the idea of taking a life but it seems that killing the Fire Lord may the only way to end the war and save the world.
The Pro-Life Theme: This episode raises some compelling thoughts regarding the sanctity of Life. Pro-aborts love to throw issues like the death penalty in our faces in an attempt to paint pro-lifers as hypocrites. However, not only is this point based on an erroneous assumption (increasing numbers of pro-lifers oppose the death penalty), but it really serves to expose their own hypocrisy. If a convicted murderer, who has taken the life of fellow human beings, deserves their right to life, how can you possibly deny it to a child whose only crime was being in the wrong person at the wrong time? Which leads me to my ultimate point: If even the life of a monster like Ozai is sacred, then surely the lives of the innocents in the womb are sacred.
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