Many shades of grey on abortion

THE EDITOR: Abortion is an emotive and very divisive issue in the United States of America and, of late, the issue has come to the fore here. The anti-abortionists see it in absolute terms. As far as they are concerned, no foetus should be aborted. In their world, there is the good and there is the bad, and the ugly will have to be satisfied to be lumped with the bad. It is a binary world where two-state logic reigns supreme. The pro-abortionists are not prepared to take such an inflexible stand. They understand that there are many shades of grey, and therefore the relevant factors and circumstances, which would be unique in each case, must be taken into consideration. So, for instance, if the mother to be is a victim of rape or incest or her health is being severely compromised, then abortion may be considered. In making the decision the various factors are weighed. Thus one may come to the conclusion that while it is desirable to save the foetus, it is more desirable to save the mother’s life for the sake of her other children. This approach uses multi-state logic or the so-called fuzzy logic.

Eastern philosophies and religions have always recognised that seeing the world in “black and white” is an oversimplification. In Hinduism it is recognised that no one is totally bad or totally good. Rather we are human beings with both good and not-so-good qualities and thus we belong to or have membership in both the set of “good people” and that of “bad people.” By way of example again, cars would have membership in the set or community of useful machinery as well as membership, of lower values, in the set of dangerous machinery and polluting machinery. Now if we were to apply the two-state logic to cars, considering the carnage occurring on our roadways, we must come to the conclusion that the car is evil and hence should be banned. But we don’t. Why? The answer is straightforwardly fuzzy-based. We weigh the positives and negatives before arriving at a conclusion. So if the positives outweigh the negatives, then we keep using the car; or if the negatives outweigh the positives, for instance in the case of a faulty vehicle, then we don’t use it.

Careful examination of the decision-making process of operators of complex machinery and process plants reveal that they use multi-state or fuzzy logic. It is not surprising, therefore, that fuzzy logic software systems are being used worldwide to augment or supplant human decision-making in machinery and factories. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry and it is growing at a phenomenal rate. It can be found in washing machines, cars and steel plants and yet there are those who deny its utility and value and would deny its existence. These are the binary men, the flag bearers of Aristotle, who feel threatened by the multi-logic men, who revel under the banner of the Lord Buddha. A classic case of East versus West. The struggle of a Hindu/Buddhist-centred approach with that of a Judeo-Christian world. The debate surrounding abortion is but a manifestation of the clash of these two approaches. The Hindu position on abortion is that there can be no one answer for all situations. Furthermore, such a position would negate a woman’s right to choose.

The principle of freedom of choice is fundamental to Hinduism for upon this rests the concept of karma (or responsibility for one’s actions). Thus, we examine the situation and make a decision, based on dharma (or righteous conduct), that would serve the best interest of all the involved parties. It should be noted that this does not diminish our belief in the sanctity of life, but rather is an acknowledgement of the sanctity of all life. Giving birth is not only a one-time biological act. It involves a host of personal and social responsibilities that must also be taken into account. Clearly then, the decision to abort or not is, as it should be, in the final analysis a personal one. In light of the above, then, as a caring and compassionate society we must ensure that those who have made that difficult decision to abort do so in a proper and safe manner. It would be most interesting to examine the relationship between men who subscribe to the “good and evil” only view of the world and their view of women’s role and place in society.

PRAKASH PERSAD
Chairman, Swaha Inc