To bring together two of the biggest controversial political topics of the moment, in the Israel-Hamas war we are witnessing a battle between a government that has almost entirely banned abortion, and government that largely permits abortion.
Ironically, a lot of American pro-choicers are shouting for the support of the anti-abortion regime, and a lot of American pro-lifers are demonstrating their support of the regime that permits, and, in some cases, pays for abortion.
As you may have guessed, in the Palestinian territories, abortion is almost entirely banned; it is only permitted in cases of saving the life of the mother. Abortion is not permitted in cases of rape or incest. What’s more, “written approval from the pregnant woman and her husband or guardian must also be provided, and these records are kept for a minimum of 10 years.”
In Israel, abortion is largely legal, and the government will pay for it in certain circumstances.
People’s worldviews are made up of a complicated mesh of competing priorities and interests; a genuine pro-lifer is likely to find the Hamas philosophy and worldview appalling, as it amounts to protecting unborn children for nine months, and then declaring open season on murdering any Israeli or international civilian in any trimester, so to speak. It’s “pro-some-life, and anti-other-life.” The typical pro-choice activist may well find Israel’s methods of retaliation too harsh and violent to accept. People care about abortion, but look to other criteria when deciding which side to support in the ongoing war.
But it is more than a little ironic to see headlines like, “What’s happening in Gaza is a reproductive justice issue too.” Those angry progressive campus activists have found a strict, religiously-based, anti-abortion regime that they’re willing to defend . . . in Hamas. You almost have to wonder how many of these activists know that abortion is banned in the Palestinian territories, and if they did know, whether their enthusiasm for defending Palestine would wane.