Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-11T12:23:48.928Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Commentary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1999

Mary G. Winkler
Affiliation:
Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

On the first page of this very timely paper the author quotes Linda Gordon: “Birth control has always been primarily an issue of politics, not of technology.” This statement provides a theme for response to Jing-Bao Nie's arguments. In reading this paper, I found myself reminded of two of George Orwell's insights: (1) When governments use euphemisms they are usually up to no good: “Such phraseology is needed if one wants to name things without calling up mental pictures of them” [e.g., the use of “remedial measure” for abortion]. “A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlines and covering up the details.” (2) Sexuality and the sexual act (I would add here reproduction—having children) can be a powerful tool of subversion and rebellion. One's sexuality (and reproductive ability) can be the last line of defense against repression or authority.

Type
SPECIAL SECTION: THE MORALITY OF ABORTION
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press