thank you Bear,
i made this post with the hope that we could be mature about this
and discuss this logically and not resort into name calling and
cursing and various strange superstitions.
unfortunately, many of the members here do not possess that level
of maturity. having said that, let the games begin!
I wish to make a proposal which is long overdue. For twenty-three
years we have recognized the right of women to do with their bodies
and their fetuses as they see fit. For twenty-three years we have
provided regular ammunition to the so-called "Right to Life"
anti-abortion movement for their hysterical and completely
superstitious campaign to ban abortion. We have provided their
sensational campaign ammunition by treating aborted fetuses as
though they were indeed dead babies -- we have disposed of them
furtively in burial sites and through incineration -- wasted
incredibly valuable substances in the process.
Now at last scientists are waking up to the fact that we have an
valuable natural resource here, going to waste -- namely fetal
tissue and fetal organs which have great value for curative
purposes. But my proposal goes beyond the suggestions of research
doctors who see the day when "fetus farming" will not only benefit
the population, both young and old, but also profit mothers who
otherwise have little to show for their efforts after an abortion.
My proposal involves a method for using nearly all the tissue of
all the fetuses being aborted.
My proposal is not without precedent. In fact, as far back as the
eighteenth century a little known author published a pamphlet
entitled, "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of the
Poor People in Ireland from being a Burden to their Parents or
Country; and for making them beneficial to their Publick". The
title and its contents approaches many of the same ideals I would
like to put forth. Since the society of the time was not
enlightened enough to act on the proposals suggested, no rights or
patents of any kind were ever taken out. I therefore have design
and process patents pending on most of the particulars outlined
below and any use of them without permission of this writer will be
prosecuted to the full extent of the law which protects against
such barbarism.
Assuming the smooth progression of the humane and democratic
currents which have brought our nation so far in the last decades,
I do not doubt but what we will soon be using organs and tissue
from the unborn not only to cure Alzheimer's and other degenerative
diseases, but to extend life for helpless babies which might
otherwise die cruel deaths. As doctors have already pointed out,
healthy organs are likely to be available soon from fetuses born
with severe malformities and terminated after birth. Although the
extremists argue this would be ethically unacceptable,
it is obviously a quibble to distinguish between a baby born at
thirty-six weeks and a fetus unborn at thirty-six weeks. It is
clearly legal to terminate the latter, and so it will no doubt
become legal to terminate the former. Nobel prize winner Crick is
on record with the proposal that we not treat babies as humans
until each proves to have sufficiently high intelligence. Since he
is now in charge of the Human Genome Project, there is little doubt
that he will implement that policy at the first opportunity. Soon,
it is to expected, not only will organs be available from sub-human
post-fetuses ( I prefer this term for its lack of sentimental
associations) terminated soon after birth, but even organs from
mentally or physically handicapped matured-fetuses will also be
available.
On the one hand all this sounds like great riches for healers
pledged to save lives, but from another standpoint it still
indicates potential for great waste. The disposal of unwanted
tissues has always been a problem for hospitals and clinics. In the
early days of abortion, particularly, anti-abortion radicals got a
great deal of press coverage over a few incidents where the
disposal of fetal materials was not carried out efficiently or
discreetly. Times have changed somewhat, it is true, and now many
citizens realize that abortion is not something to be ashamed of,
nor its products necessarily something to be secretly disposed of.
European cosmetic manufacturers, for instance, and even some
American firms are using fetal collagen in their hair-enrichening
shampoos and skin-enrichening face creams. Be this as it may, an
incredible mass of fetal tissue is harvested by the hospitals and
clinics of our nation and something ought to be done to properly
utilize, not only those parts which are coming to be thought of as
valuable, but the whole of the aborted fetus.
I believe I am the first scientist in our times to propose the
utilization of fetal tissues for food. The nutritional value of the
fetus is obvious to anyone. It is human protien, though of course,
the fetus isn't human. Nevertheless, the amino acids, the protiens
which compose the fetus are the very ones the human body can best
use. How sad that our government has spent money perfecting ideal
foods for such things as the space program when a tube of
concentrated fetal protien would do the job so much better.
Research has led me to propose we open canning factories in
conjunction with abortion units carrying out four thousand or more
abortions per year. (Central facilities could then be opened for
the raw materials from those doing fewer than four thousand
abortions).
The optimum method of preparation would be simply canning. The
fetal tissue including placental material* would be received only
if transshipped within four hours of its removal. The tissue would
be washed and canned then cooked under high pressure in ways the
meat-canning industry has already perfected with other sorts of
meat.** In the event that market research should indicate some
reluctance on the part of the consumer to consume the meat in its
whole state, further processing approaches would be used, such as
the puree process, or sausage-making. Even fresh products -- some
of the choicer cuts or burger might be sold if refrigeration and
packaging were found economically feasible. The whole products
would contain very little bone, of course, and canning would soften
any cartilages. Perhaps with a gradual introduction, whole fetus
meat, which would be cheaper to produce would become acceptable to
the public. I remember as a boy being startled at first to see
whole sardines and kippers, bones and all, in the cans my mother
brought home from the super market. Gradually, however, I came to
enjoy them.
I feel confident that my proposal, although it will require
government subsidy at the research and initial stages, will
eventually prove economically profitable. It is possible that the
final outcome might include cheaper abortions -- or even profits
for the women involved!
After long thought, I have hit upon a trademark and name. The
trademark would include a healthy-looking painting of a fetal face
(After abortion the real thing is seldom as lovely as the ideal)
resembling the cheerful ones seen on baby food and equipment
advertisements. The only difference would be two small black X's
painted in place of the eyes. The trade name I propose, in honor of
Jonathan Swift, who must be credited with the original conception,
is "Modest Meats". Our slogan might be "Modest Meats -- What the
modern man eats".
