December 9, 2013 - It's kinda interesting how negatively people seem to have been reacting to this plot. A big theme of this comic is obviously the freedom of choice, and while many people seem to have morally disagreed with Margot's decision, it's still her choice to make as it involves her body. Likewise Dr. Gregory made a choice about performing the procedure himself which seems to have been even more controversial (and will likely have fairly significant consequences moving forward), but I'd still argue it was his choice to make as well as it involves his medical expertise. And though his medical expertise has some notable limitations when assessing emotional situations, he's still fairly skilled when it comes to the surgical aspects of medical practice.
Despite the general youthfulness of the cast, I believe the majority of abortion providers are over 50. On top of this many such doctors are faced with constant harassment, an unstable legal climate that threatens their job security, and limited support from other doctors and hospitals to assist with meeting the demand for their services. Given these drawbacks there are generally only two types of people who I can understand pursuing such a profession, those with a personal connection to the issue at hand (like most of the cast) or those whose profession has been dictated by financial concerns (either those capitalizing on a market where the demand for abortions outnumbers the number of abortion providers for profit, or those too unskilled in other medical practices to meet the standards other fields would have, making things much less safe for women seeking abortions (think Kermit Gosnell and all his violations)). Dr. Gregory is Margot's best option, though the timing is certainly less than ideal and there are many legal problems with Dr. Gregory's actions that he probably should have considered before performing the abortion.
Potentially I should have considered making Margot more likeable myself, but it was somewhat important to me that Margot's abortion couldn't be justified as something threatening her life (like an ectopic pregnancy) or a social issue people generally find more acceptable as a justification for an abortion (such as teenage pregnancy, rape, or incest). Not every abortion has such a backstory. The issue isn't a matter of the people in society or the people having the abortion playing God, it's an issue of why must we feel someone else's sense of morality has any bearing on our own. Shouldn't our morality come more from inside ourselves than projecting it onto other people, especially when their actions don't directly hurt us?
I think that's all I'm going to say now. There are quite a few other things going on in the news that I should comment on (not to mention going through my own comments), but I guess I'll try to cycle through that as the week progresses. Seeya tomorrow.
-D
Despite the general youthfulness of the cast, I believe the majority of abortion providers are over 50. On top of this many such doctors are faced with constant harassment, an unstable legal climate that threatens their job security, and limited support from other doctors and hospitals to assist with meeting the demand for their services. Given these drawbacks there are generally only two types of people who I can understand pursuing such a profession, those with a personal connection to the issue at hand (like most of the cast) or those whose profession has been dictated by financial concerns (either those capitalizing on a market where the demand for abortions outnumbers the number of abortion providers for profit, or those too unskilled in other medical practices to meet the standards other fields would have, making things much less safe for women seeking abortions (think Kermit Gosnell and all his violations)). Dr. Gregory is Margot's best option, though the timing is certainly less than ideal and there are many legal problems with Dr. Gregory's actions that he probably should have considered before performing the abortion.
Potentially I should have considered making Margot more likeable myself, but it was somewhat important to me that Margot's abortion couldn't be justified as something threatening her life (like an ectopic pregnancy) or a social issue people generally find more acceptable as a justification for an abortion (such as teenage pregnancy, rape, or incest). Not every abortion has such a backstory. The issue isn't a matter of the people in society or the people having the abortion playing God, it's an issue of why must we feel someone else's sense of morality has any bearing on our own. Shouldn't our morality come more from inside ourselves than projecting it onto other people, especially when their actions don't directly hurt us?
I think that's all I'm going to say now. There are quite a few other things going on in the news that I should comment on (not to mention going through my own comments), but I guess I'll try to cycle through that as the week progresses. Seeya tomorrow.
-D
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