MTV’s Abortion Special Raises the Only Question Worth Debate

by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog

Late Tuesday night, MTV provided viewers with a candid look into the decision of a teenage mother to terminate the life of her unborn child.

No Easy Decision, MTV’s special spun off from 16 and Pregnant, followed Markai Durham as she came to the agonizing conclusion to have an abortion. With a frankness rarely seen anywhere on television, No Easy Decision presented a vivid, unsparing look at something that’s not just an “issue,” but a harrowing decision.

With that description, Entertainment Weekly perpetuates the view of abortion as a conscientious if tragic act which can be justified by circumstance.

It is enlightening to consider how we might regard a variation of Markai’s scenario. For instance, would we regard Markai’s deliberation as “a harrowing decision” if she considered killing a newborn? Of course we wouldn’t. Why? Because it is generally accepted that a newborn baby is a human being with an inherent right to life. Acknowledging this brings us to the only question of any real import in the abortion debate. Are the unborn human? Accounts of Durham’s struggle, as portrayed on MTV, highlight that question and why all of us have a vested interest in the answer.

Read on at NewsReal Blog…