So, the above is an actual debate about abortion that is happening, in England, in 2014 – Timothy Stanley and Brendan O’Neill discuss a medical procedure neither of them will ever need, which prevents a life-changing event that will never happen to them. Well done, guys.
Not only have Oxford Students For Life decided that – on a contentious issue of biology, ethics and women’s bodily autonomy – the people we really need to hear from are “men”; they’ve actually managed to restrict the field yet further to “white men who blog for the Telegraph”. What’s next? A debate on the pay gap, conducted entirely by the cast of Top Gear?
What your mole can’t quite work out is which of these two god-princes of the feminist cause is meant to be putting the pro-choice position. Perhaps, given the title of the debate, it’s neither. Maybe Timothy Stanley will argue that Britain’s Abortion Culture Hurts Us All, while Brendan O’Neill replies that, no, Britain’s Abortion Culture Only Hurts Vulnerable Women And Thus It’s Patronising To Women And We Should Ban It.
At any rate, despite the deafening giggling that’s greeted this bit of programming, Oxford Students for Life released a statement, promising that the event will go ahead regardless. It begins:
Free speech is a vital principle of a democratic society, and at a university of all places it should be protected. We’re very happy to discuss people’s concerns about the event, but it would be a shame if open debate was shut down.
Well thank the lord that some plucky upstart is still out there fighting for the freedom of successful white men to air their opinions on women’s bodies.
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