Abortion and Autonomy (3) | Renegade Cut

[@nanis3684]

“A protest that is agreeable to the oppressor will not end oppression” 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@573lange2]

DO OTHER STUFF!!!!11!!

[@theonlymegumegu]

that makes a fantastic life motto

[@BombingCarpets]

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

[@brennenderopa]

Can't upvote this enough.

[@HHappiness_2.0]

A march with a permit is just a parade.

[@dr.polaris6423]

Fascinating how medieval Christianity would now be seen as Pro-Choice when compared to modern conservative evangelicals.

[@cbrindle91]

There is a verse in the bible prescribing abortion for pregnant wives who were found to be unfaithful to their husbands. Something along the lines of "drinking bitter water and if she retains the pregnancy the child is the husbands." Or something along those lines...

[@AP-mn4hj]

I keep pointing this out to many religious conservatives from my own Jewish community, but the Talmud is explicitly pro-choice, even giving abortion instructions in 3 separate sections, the most complete set along with reasons as to why (rape, giving the mother the right to live) are given in the book of Maimonides. It showed me that many of my fellow people of the community who are pro-life/anti-abortion just want to get in bed with modern Christian supremacists, I guess for survival.

[@NewhamMatt]

@@cbrindle91 Numbers 5 if I recall correctly. This is not to be confused with this passage being "pro-choice". The process is instigated by the husband (the wife has no say), and God decides whether the baby lives or not (miscarriage is punishment for infidelity). Also, if the miscarriage does take, the woman is left permanently barren.

[@akumakorgar]

Medieval people get a really short deal when it comes to what they thought and practiced. They weren't nearly as superstitious or backwards as a lot of people think.

[@akumakorgar]

@@AP-mn4hj It's got to be that whole Judeo-Christian alliance thing

[@SA-mo3hq]

Another point: Prior to the 1970s, most evangelicals were pro-choice. The Forced Birth position was promulgated by the republicans in the evangelical ecosystem as they needed a wedge issue that would mobilise the evangelicals to vote. Prior to this, evangelicals had poor voter engagement.

[@Envy_May]

you can hear frank schaeffer, who is largely responsible but later down the line completely changed his views, speak on these matters

[@a.p.2356]

In addition to the idea that a woman choosing to have an abortion is "violating her traditional role by not accepting motherhood," I'd argue that a huge part of the motivation behind banning abortions is punishing women for perceived promiscuity. Sex is considered by many to be fundamentally immoral for any purpose other than having children, and pregnancy is seen as a natural consequence enforcing that moral standard. That's why forced birthers will focus on the myth of women "using abortion as birth control," or decrying "sexual degeneracy" and casual sex alongside abortion: the point is that sex is wrong, and pregnancy is a consequence for bad behavior. That's why many of the same people are opposed to birth control and contraceptives too. If the goal was to prevent abortions, logically they would supportive making technologies which prevent pregnancy as widely available as possible. Birth control, contraceptives, and abortion are seen as immoral because they allow people to avoid the consequences of their actions. It also explains the logic behind banning abortions of ectopic pregnancies or other cases where the fetus is non-viable: it's "well, that's the risk she took when she decided not to keep her legs shut" made into law. Many countries have restrictions or even outright bans, but the quasi-secular support for abortion bans is a uniquely American thing for this reason; it fits perfectly with the American idea that "mistakes" or "poor choices" should have brutal, life altering consequences. If no such consequence exists naturally, one needs to be created in order to punish people for behavior you deem negative, sinful, or bad. That's why we gut social programs ("if they didn't want to be poor, they should have worked harder"), criminalize drug use while offering no meaningful treatment options ("if they didn't want to die, they shouldn't have done drugs"), refuse to raise the minimum wage ("if they want to make more money, they should get a better job"), and spend entire city budgets on police forces which demonstrably do not prevent crime. The role of the American government is not to provide services; the role of the government is to punish. For that matter, it explains why so many remain in favor of the death penalty, despite the fact that it does not deter crime, does not offer closure to victims, often results in the execution of innocent people, and is much more costly than imprisoning those who commit heinous crimes. It's a small price to pay if it means we get to punish people.

[@ArchmageIlmryn]

Exactly, most pro-lifers who engage with the bodily autonomy argument at all tend to argue that consent to sex means automatic consent to pregnancy, and that abortions are an immoral way to avoid "consequences for one's actions". Most people seem to be more concerned about the ability to avoid consequences than the actual fetus.

[@scarylion1roar]

"Because every time they have sexual intercourse, they have to have a baby." "Well, it's the same with us, Harry." "What d'you mean?" "We have two children and we've only had sex twice."

[@blue_eyedfloozy]

Right on the money. The amount of arguments I’ve gotten into with my pro-forced birth father have gone exactly like this. At the end of the day, they believe sex is wrong and pregnancy is a punishment. Even though THAT logic flies directly in the face of their “every child is a gift from God” belief but that’s the modern republican/conservative for ya!

[@anonymoussaga8723]

And the really ironic thing is: isn’t the whole point of Christianity that we’re all undeserving sinners who should go to hell for our sinful behaviour, but are saved anyways because someone else paid for our sins? You’d think Christians wouldn’t be so aghast by someone being able to mitigate consequences, or thrilled with the notion of forcing someone to face consequences.

[@arcanineryu]

I'd say that's actually a smokescreen for their real motivation. Which is ownership of women and children as enslaved property. It's not that they hate promiscuity. It's that they hate women having the ability to choose when to have sex at all, and want it to be entirely on a man's terms and maintain a man's ownership of her and ensure paternity of her children. It's not that they think women having sex is bad. It's that they want her to only have sex when her husband demands it of her and no other times. like not even having her request sex from her husband unless she's responding to his nonverbal signals. Decrying promiscuity is just the closest the culture allows them to get to stating their real goals of an irrational and cruel desire for a world where women never exist at the expense of men.

[@Seal0626]

I saw someone sum it up like this: They don't want to prevent abortions. They want to _deny_ abortions. Barely related, I enjoy that little flash of Kira "time for a less subtle approach" Nerys in the opening montage.

[@vysharra]

You almost have it: the want to deny _safe_ abortions. Facts are that illegal abortions in countries where abortion is banned are more prevalent then safe abortions in countries with legal abortion. In the USA, pre _Roe v Wade_ shows that illegal abortions will happen regardless of the law. The “pro-life” movement also supports the elimination of programs proven to reduce the need for abortion such as comprehensive sex ed, child welfare, and free and easy access to contraceptives. They cannot legislate the kind of sex they hate so instead they have turned pregnancy and children into a punishment against those they hate. Some people they like may suffer but the goal of indirectly legislating our bedrooms (through the threat of economic ruin, arrest, injury and death) is far more important.

[@AgusSkywalker]

I always give this example: unlike a fetus, my 28 year old sister is undoubtly a person. If, for any reason she needed a kidney, and I can give her one of my own, but refuse to do so for any reason, that is the end of the discussion. I can do whatever I want with my own kidneys and no doctor will strap me to a table and take one by force. Not even to save the life of a fully formed adult person. So, if we all agree I have that right to my bodily autonomy, women should have theirs and have full access to abortions.

[@cozybrynn6243]

Exactly! That's what it boils down to for me, as well. I think an even better example would be a parent donating organs or blood to their child. The child is that same fetus that was conceived however many years ago. The parents are the same parents who engaged in an act they knew might result in a child. If we grant a fetus permission to use their parents' bodies in order to survive, why would that change once the child is born? Not to mention the fact that blood donation is much less dangerous and painful than a pregnancy. To be fair, some people would accept these conditions, at least from a moral perspective. Refusing to donate blood to your child isn't a good look. But from a legal perspective, the idea that the government could force parents to go through with this is terrifying. (I also like that these scenarios don't just apply to those of us who can get pregnant.)

[@QvsTheWorld]

Better yet, we don't force people to give blood and for having donated blood over 30 times already I can assure you it's very convenient, safe and and no lasting physical side effects. We also don't take organs from dead people without their prior living consent and it's not like they need them or that it would make them more dead.

[@otterlover3399]

A better analogy is even a parent and child. Even a parent who would be a perfect match is not required to donate a kidney or any other organ to their child. Even if the child would die otherwise and even though that parent chose to create the child in the first place. They still can't and shouldn't be forced to donate parts of their body to their children.

[@tonyrigatoni766]

I've presented the same organ-donor analogy to pro-life people in the past, and the response is usually something along the lines of "yeah, but your kidney isn't a human being / doesn't have a soul".

[@cozybrynn6243]

@@tonyrigatoni766 I mean, in that case, they've misunderstood the analogy. The kidney would be donated to someone who IS a human being and may need it to survive. That's the whole point. If you want to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe turn it around. Look at it from the perspective of the fetus. I, a former fetus, can't legally force my mom to give me her kidneys or blood. Even if my life depends on it. Even though my parents are responsible for my existence. Even though I have my own unique DNA. I can yawn, hear and see, I can feel pain, etc. My right to use my mom's body evaporated the moment I was born. If abortions are banned, I would have had MORE rights as a fetus than as a baby/child/adult. Why? Sorry for the rant, but I hope it helps clarify things.

[@trioofone8911]

"They were born into a patriarchal society, made observations about good and evil, and then wrote their biases into their canon". So succinctly put, my friend. And I have to clarify, 1, this seems bloody obvious when you put it this way. 2, I knew this already, but just hadn't had occasion to articulate it so clearly. In the larger scope of your (very well organized series of) videos, this point may be a small one, but it caught my attention. I don't comment on every single statement of yours that catches my attention--if I did, then your videos would all take me an hour to get through. Lol. This one seems to me to clarify a notion about the development of cultures through time and including our modern culture: patriarchy is MORE deep seated even than the old time religions. This is NOT a chicken or egg question: clearly, patriarchy was here first, and those biased INFORMED the development of the process of codification of belief that would dominate the world. Thank you

[@lkeke35]

That line stuck with me too and you therefore get all the applause today!!!

[@vylbird8014]

But it's an argument that doesn't work on the believers, since it's one of their basic axioms that their canon /is/ the word of God: This is a fact not established, but given and immutable, beyond even the consideration of contest. So the argument is one of those that sounds great to those who already agree with it, but isn't any good for convincing those who don't.

[@TheParadoxGamer1]

I had never known how or why abortion was originally criminalized in the US, Gods it makes so much sense now.

[@FeministCatwoman]

It will never fail to disturb me how not once, but TWICE when the USA banned abortion, it was always due to racist and anti-black motivations. First in the late 1800s, and then again in the 1970s.

[@inelouw]

I find it interesting that part of the horror of "Get Out" is also based on this premise of some people having the right to usurp the bodily autonomy of other people.

[@Blue74]

The notion of Christian supremecy is so accurate and needs to be talked about more. I'm a (nonreligious) Jew and it's so obvious to someone who wasn't raised in a both cultural and religious Christian environment that "Christianity as the norm" is so prevalent in so-called "secular" countries. Whether regarding things like abortion, or other things such as when there are national days off work and school (Christmas, Easter, etc vs holidays of non christians) and more. Excellent video, the moral barrier bit was well put.

[@JP-JustSayin]

I'm loving this series. It's so informationally dense that even at .75 speed I have to go back and listen to a lot of it 2 or 3 times. Keep it coming Leon.

[@samiam2088]

In my personal opinion, a fetus does not have bodily autonomy, because it's body is unable to function autonomously. It is an entirely dependent organism and it's dependent status does not override the mothers actual bodily autonomy.

[@tonywalters7298]

That is a good way to explain it.

[@someonerandom8552]

That’s pretty much my position.

[@warped_rider]

@@BioBroly111 If they're in permanent vegetative state and aren't lucid, their family might have the right to decide to terminate their life, it probably depends on where they are and precisely what their situation is. If they're on life support and lucid, they will still have BA. The distinction between the latter and a fetus is that a fetus is not aware of their rights (or anything else) and can't meaningfully act on them or have someone act on their behalf, whereas a person on life support who is lucid does have awareness and can ask someone to act on their behalf. The lucid life support patient can also sign a "do not revive" order, a thing that it seems to me these rabid pro-lifers should be just as offended by as abortion, but consistency isn't their strong suit; they just want to get what they want at any cost (as long as someone else is footing the bill).

[@rathan3288]

Forcing someone to carry a fetus is almost like forcing someone to live with a parasite in their womb.

[@dave_riots]

Dang. That was fast! I love your content man. Thank you for radicalizing me and finding something worth believing in. 💯

[@melissamarsh2219]

Like the good Sir Terry said, the only evil is to treat people as things

[@grmpEqweer]

💔Miss Sir Terry. Glad he graced us.

[@tonywalters7298]

The American Medical Association is one of the reasons the USA does not have universal healthcare, because the AMA wanted to keep physician salaries high.

[@faith-by-faith]

Not sure if you will see this, but I'm going to comment anyway. As a Unitarian Universalist, and especially one on their way to becoming a UU minster, I'm so happy to see us included in this. Thank you.

[@NaderNabilart]

Great arguments, also simpler language than your usual videos .. while I always have adored your older video essays, however the new ones seem to be more reachable by larger audiences. Kids, non-native english speakers and many more. Always making great work, I hope more people get to know your channel, especially outside US. Thank you for this. Also, greetings from Egypt!

[@grmpEqweer]

Moral problem (like the trolley problem, so not based in reality, but a way to _examine morality_ , ok?) You find yourself in a burning building (how? I dunno) ....You have with you: -A portable deep-freeze unit, holding 200 fertilized embryos. If used, about a third of these embryos will, on average, result in a successful pregnancy. -You also have a screaming six-year old child in a wheelchair named Timmy. The flames are coming fast. You can: -Rescue the **potential** lives in the cryo unit or. -Rescue Timmy. You don't have time or the physical capacity to do both. Of course, you could just leave both and get out yourself, if leaving Timmy to literally die in a fire doesn't bother you. That's a choice.

[@LogicGated]

I love how clearly Leon explained how dehumanising the prevention of autonomy is.

[@Itsgay2read]

Love the explicit distinction between religion and patriarchy.

[@iciajay6891]

And capitalism.

[@ANTH0NY.VII.]

The far right has moved the conversation from, "Do women have a right to bodily autonomy?" to "A fetus is a human" So I recommend that you move the conversation back to where it belonged, do woman have the right to bodily autonomy. The answer is yes. No buts.

[@tonyrigatoni766]

Before watching this video, I was baffled by the existence of *secular* pro-life people. I had always associated the pro-life position with religious dogma. After watching, I now understand that the unifying factor between religious and secular pro-life people is patriarchy. Furthermore, this idea illuminates how different forms of supremacy are related and support one another (Christian Nationalism works together with patriarchy, which works together with racism, etc).

[@zero69kage]

That also in some ways explains the hatred against us transgender people. They want a very clear separation between man and women. But we make that separation messy and even turn it completely on its head. Without that clear separation it suddenly gets harder to control any one group and say that they are inferior when suddenly someone is trying to become the thing you're trying to oppress.

[@Flavershum]

I've also read arguments where people say that trying to debate the morality of an individual getting an abortion is useless when discussing public policy. It distracts from the real question, which is "should the state be given the power to force a person to carry a pregnancy to term." Which I've always found to be a more useful way of framing the issue.

[@msjennifer6119]

10:58 Woo-hoo! Love Jack Holland's book! Thanks for referencing it in the video. I recommend it to everyone - especially if you can get the audio version. Even if you're not big on history, it's so engaging and he as some real zingers: "As a man I'm not familiar with women's prison in North Korea, the caste system in India or capital punishment in Ethiopia, being from North Ireland I am familiar with the word c---t and all the ugliness it implied." (paraphrased)

[@DrWhack]

Loved this video. The population control angle isn’t something I was aware of but makes total sense with context. Also, appreciate you pointing out how if this was really about “denying the life of the fetus,” they would be advocating for vasectomies everywhere and widespread distribution/mandatory usage of condoms and birth control, but they don’t. It’s all about control, and a female’s autonomy is considered more acceptable for control and sacrifice than a male’s autonomy.

[@tonywalters7298]

And punishment for having sex outside of what religious groups deem as acceptable, i.e. sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage, and sex not for the intention to procreate. A child is seen as punishment for premaritial or extramaritial sex.

[@vickiecordon7887]

@@tonywalters7298 very well sumatized. "If a woman is not married a baby is punishment". A human was forced to be born for his/her only life mission to punish his/her mother.

[@TheaTheGenius]

@@vickiecordon7887 suuuper late reply, but not just for an unmarried woman. I think he mentions in the video that they think a woman's primary purpose is to breed within the confines of a marriage ag her husban'd request, not her own. So if you're married, but dont want kids, that is unacceptable. Anecdotal, but I remember a tweet from a while back where a woman was commenting how she will protector for the right to contraception and abortion for everyone, married or unmarried, because it allows her to fuck her husband without worrying about pregnancy. And some nutjob replied something like: not for long you fucking whore. Like think about that for a second. The woman is married. And only has one sexual partner. But they still want to punish her for expressing any kind of sexual desire, for having any kind of sex that isn't for procreation specifically. It was always about control and domination.

[@justinbremer2281]

🤔 So if we have a soul at conception, but can't get baptized or anything until after we're born, then every fetus is still guilty of original sin and abortion doesn't kill an "innocent" at all, right? 🙃

[@Ashtonyss]

I've heard pro lifers actually use this argument. They say that unborn children are condemned to hell, and thus must be born so that they can be baptized and allowed into heaven.

[@justinbremer2281]

@@Ashtonyss That sounds less and less like a deity deserving of worship tbh

[@voxomnes9537]

@@justinbremer2281 You would be correct.

[@Envy_May]

do they mean conception as in fertilisation ? because like 80% of fertilised eggs get naturally flushed out of the body anyway so if this argument holds then doesn't that mean the vast, vast majority of people populate hell lol ?

[@HGWaze]

It's worth mentioning that women's historical subjugation comes largely from patrilocality - a wife at marriage joining the family of the husband, and not the other way around. Among strangers who are related 'by blood' to the husband, her interests were often ignored. Please watch the series on equality v. hierarchy by the channel What is Politics? for more on this...

[@IkomaTanomori]

THANK YOU for that acknowledgement that not every society followed that development pattern, just the ones after which the current world domination is patterned.

[@fangal12]

Crazy how this wasn't in my feed. Such a great video being buried by the algorithm. No matter how rational your argument is the fact is that anti choice people will not change their position. The only hope is for people who may be on the fence or haven't formed a strong opposition to abortion seeing this

[@vebdaklu]

I had a neighbour tell me he has female coworkers which are seemingly okay people, but "they grow old, and they never had children". He said it like it's his business in any way. It's mind-blowing. When I told him my reasons for not wanting kids, he did not agree outright, but he did acknowledge my point of view as valid. So, a man, who doesn't need to suffer through a pregnancy, doesn't want kids - reasonable; a woman not wanting a child - inconceivable, she must be crazy. The guy isn't overy religious, btw.

[@jackl4349]

Beautiful and savage. I'll edit this again after finishing the watch.

[@DavidCDrake]

Still looking forward to your final edit. 😉

[@hapsate]

What a good video! Never had abortion linked to patriarchy so well.

[@speckbacon9881]

Mass media and education needs to be held to higher standards to prevent a nation coming into existence where there are not enough people to prevent stuff like that happening. There are too many authoritarians and dark triad adults in the USA.

[@renaissancewoman3770]

I really like this series of videos. it's covering things I've thought about often but haven't heard other people talk about as much.

[@Planag7]

Definitely informative. I'll be sharing this to a few people

[@jodypschaeffer]

Yep. Her body, her choice. No exceptions.

[@Xan1120]

This series is so informative and interesting. I love how concise yet well-explained everything is. It’s great to be able to have more concise definitions, since some terms can be a bit misleading based on how they’re named. 😅

[@RexDartEskimoSpy]

It's interesting that so many of these deep ancient traditions that we've always supposedly followed often date back to the mid 19th century.

[@honeyrose7663]

This is so scary that our rights have been taken in the U.S. Thanks for this video!

[@Applemangh]

On an individual level, I think plenty of pro-life people honestly do care about protecting the rights of the unborn, but on a political level, the pro-forced birth/anti-choice movement is also the one that opposes birth control, same sex marriage and sexual activity, and comprehensive sex ed. All of those things would reduce abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, yet the so called "pro-life" politicians oppose them. I think most people at least "dislike" abortion as a concept. If we focused on improving material conditions for the average citizen, so that no one is forced to feel like having a kid will ruin their life and bring a child into an unhappy life, then I bet abortions would also go way down.

[@alexwyatt2911]

Nah, the majority of pro-lifers are compelled by the subconscious and/or conscious desire to control women and women’s bodies. It usually only takes a layer or two before their misogyny is laid bare (if it was disguised at all). Pro-lifers often claim that preventing unwanted pregnancy is easy; they use rape culture rhetoric and declare that the solution is for women to “close their legs” and “stop sleeping around.” Pro-lifers use language like “innocent” to describe a human embryo or fetus. To them, the pregnant person is guilty (of having sex) and pro-lifers believe that a pregnant person needs to “take responsibility” (i.e. be punished) by carrying a pregnancy to term and giving birth. Plenty of pro-lifers are deeply in denial or simply in the dark about the misogyny and patriarchy that power their beliefs. However, it’s true all the same-despite what they proclaim.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

The main point of discussion is control. Control of what other people can do. Control of what other people can say. Control of how other people worship. Ultimately it's about using the state power to force others to follow the religious beliefs of evangelical Christians .

[@ants_in_my_eyes_Wilson]

Sadly I don't think the label of Christian supremacist bothers many people. They don't seem to give a shit. They're not even smart enough to know what that means. Unfortunately I think you're giving them too much credit. In reality, I love this channel. Just found it yesterday. I'm enjoying everything I have seen so far. Please keep it coming, thank you

[@notNajimi]

Hell yeah another entry in this series already. Also loving the measurehead kick in the intro dhjddh

[@Busto]

That last line is the perfect period for this entire video. Well done!

[@thoughtprism2963]

By far the best, clearest essay on this subject I've ever seen.

[@garycoates4987]

Keep up the great work. I think an idea you hit on implicitly that's very important to the overall theme, within America the "supremacists" point of view whether patriarchy or racism or Christian nationalism is self appointed by the supremacists as a expression of force, a direct opposition to all personal autonomy. The abortion debate is absolutely not about protecting life and completely about control on the most basic level, the Christian supremacist point of view is this basic removal of personal autonomy gives them the "freedom" to remove other levels of autonomy.

[@TazTheYellow]

My comrade, you are doing God's work, and it is much appreciated.

[@jacobbair6116]

Brilliant. As always. You produce such high quality content. It is very much appreciated.

[@DavidCDrake]

Thank you for all of your excellent work, Leon. Keep fighting the good fight! ✊🏻

[@ThatDudePlatina]

Indeed. Control is an intoxicating thing. It’s absurd it isn’t more normal how absurd our world is allowed to be.

[@JohnSmith-eq5bw]

This series is excellent. Truly quality documentary filmmaking. Hopefully, the algorithm god will look kindly upon it.

[@MrJacobHart]

Hey man, Im coming over from your Batman video you recently posted. Film criticism and art appreciation are totally worth watching and making nowadays, but your work is soooo much more than that. I just want to thank you for keeping up with these videos and for using KZbin to make these gems of thoughtful political discussion. Your videos are probably not easy to make, and even harder to get seen since they don’t use clickbait to get noticed, even though your content is always current with events/trends and posted regularly enough to make it some of the most relevant material on the site. Thanks for always being pretty freakin awesome!

[@nystria_]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how the bible's authors (and maybe translators/adapters later on) let their biases influence their writings.

[@TheSleepyowlet]

Oh friend, that is *such* a rabbit hole! Like that word that got translated to "virgin" just meant "unmarried woman" - the word for virgin was another one entirely 😂

[@Thinkcrown]

I think the supreme court justices must have skipped this class. They don’t seem too bright.

[@number420pencil]

I wish I was as well read as you are. Thanks for your videos.

[@justinbremer2281]

Is a 420 pencil the same thing as Thai stick?

[@Cipriboris]

This is gold. Like, i know all of this and still: having it explained in this succint and calm way it's just amazing. Thank you

[@Lincoln_Bio]

The David Cronenberg reference in a video about bodily autonomy is pretty relevant to his new movie

[@billstewart147]

Thank you for making this series!

[@tempertempernow]

I listened to this when it first came out, but the 2nd time around was better because I was able to absorb some of my rage. Your series is so excellent. Thank you for standing up for abortion.

[@cabalofdemons]

Another excellent video by Renegade Cut.

[@justmeandthethree]

Everyone should watch these videos.

[@mousebreaker1000]

Excellent video. Outstanding series. 10/10 will rewatch at some point

[@rudetuesday]

Thank you for this series. Laying things out like this is so helpful.

[@bocuster]

I just listened to a monotone voice spit fire for 33 minutes. Amazing content.

[@LilayM]

THANK YOU so much for making this. It's pretty sad that in these times I'd appreciate sth that validates my (and half the planet's) autonomy. I'm also glad to have gained a name for christian supremacy - super obvious, but I never thought of it that way. Either way - THANK YOU. This is such a great resource. I feel so bad about the whole situation (Poland has it bad, just as US is starting to) - it's nice to see opposition - and a reminder that most people do agree that I'm not beholden to any kind of pet sperm that makes it inside my body. (Motherhood is downright heroic and I think women who undertake it are heroes

[@utz2867]

Perfectly articulated and precise. Great work as usual!

[@thelegalsystem]

Pardon the vernacular and being wildly off topic, but that is the most Gigachad depiction of Lincoln I've ever seen. 21:06

[@kaleidoscopickait]

Absolutely been loving this series, Leon! You explain things in an in-depth, but succinct way. That’s not easy to do! Also, I got an ad for Pureflix on this video lol, they’re trying hard to advertise on leftist content, but their money is wasted on me!

[@samantha75649]

Fantastic video. A lot of complex ideas and arguments put together so efficiently.

[@odourpreventer]

@17:54 Hey I recognise that song, it's "Ack Värmeland du sköna"!

[@UnrequitedFriday]

Fantastic content as always.

[@tomnewton5994]

Took me to school with this one. What an insane history.

[@hogweed1975]

I love this series, thank you. Loved the nuanced way you approach religion too, and like great nuance does, it just makes the point of critique much sharper and stronger. One thing that keeps lingering in my mind after watching and overthinking this, is: there are instances in which the secular state indeed does override bodily autonomy. For instance, during war and/or times of conscription. Or maybe during a global pandemic, where mandatory vaccination is maybe unideal, and to be avoided at almost all costs, precisely because of the reasons you cite, but the instrument is there and the use of it is not unthinkable, including from an ethical point of view, including even from a leftist point of view. I think conservatives would frame the abortion question as a severe case like that: like a pandemic, or a war, a situation in which the bodily autonomy of a person can and should be overridden, in order to prevent the atrocity committed against hundreds of thousands human beings each year. I've heard conservatives frame it like that. This - as much as I appreciate and agree with everything you say about how it's not relevant in the discussion - brings back the debate about where life begins and the soul starts at least slightly. Because the overriding of bodily autonomy is nót unthinkable, we will have the debate on our hands wether the number of abortions counts as an atrocity severe enough for bodily autonomy to be overridden. For the record: I think it should be entirely up to the pregnant person. Even if the soul starts at conception.

[@grmpEqweer]

Belief in a soul is not a science-based belief. Encoding the belief of a soul's existence into law is enshrinement of a religious/spiritual tenet into law. That's supposed to be unconstitutional in the US's system, because it's a matter of faith, not evidentiary fact. Just noting.

[@maes2644]

I think the analogy of organ donation demonstrates the autonomy issue really well: if you have a child that is in need of an organ transplant or they will die, should you be legally compelled to donate your organs to them against your will?

[@Recondite101]

3:41 absolute chads, always confront and fight fascists

[@omgkatstephens]

Thank you for making this series. You are doing humanity a service.

[@BarbarianGod]

this is a great series, really comprehensive and I kinda want to dive into some of the quoted sources

[@chelscara]

5:14 I wonder how many know they’re cheering for rape and suicide? How many acknowledge their harm or actually think they are saviors?

[@clobbermiester]

Great video. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@jackdoobie]

great episode, should be viewed by everyone who seeks to force their will upon women

[@vickiecordon7887]

Very well explained video

[@paulwoodman9064]

Hey. This series is very good work. I'm sorry it seems to be getting buried.

[@EvelynneRude]

Also popping in here from your Batman video >_< lol, I'm a long time subscriber and I just want to say someone else who remembers when you channel "use to just be about film criticism" I was really really hype for the direction you took the channel. This series on Autonomy is a banger and I've shared it with a ton of friends and family. I'm glad you're still engaging with film too, just in a way that sparks joy :D

[@Darinadon]

Wonderfully educational. Will use it for when I have to discuss this issue. You always present things in a very academic way, it's brilliant. Also, it didn't occur to me that criminalizing abortion is a recent thing, but yeah, makes sense. And yes, religion has nothing to do with this. I live in a country, where there's one dominant religion and it is definitely being used to inform bans on the lgbtq+ community, but due to certain historical events, abortion has never been outlawed and there have never been talks about outlawing it.

[@jbills3000]

Excellent video essay! This is one of those projects that should be required reading/watching lol 👩🏾‍🎓❤

[@legendaryvegangaming7761]

Loving the series.

[@ronrhyno506]

Great series. Important in these trying times

[@laceybabay1013]

Thank you so much for continuing to make such great content. It’s so important.

[@CompComp]

This is a great explanation from the bottom up. Most people don't understand what makes things right or wrong past God said so... Aka what my pastor says God actually means

[@Karma20XX]

My only issue with this video is that this doesn't just concern women but also underage girls (children).

[@specialgradetre]

This is one my fave channels.

[@yumeriagirl1231]

#LeonTheHumanist I frackin' *LOVE* Renegade Cut!!!

[@LRXC1]

Again I loved loved this video. I never knew about the history of the AMA and everything. Great stuff

[@FlorecitaRockera11]

Great video, thank you!

[@caligulacorday]

32:28 I`d be interested to hear where Holland gets the idea that Christians took a „profound sense of shame“ from the Jews. As someone who was raised Christian and became Jewish, I have never encountered anything in Judaism that was anything like the shame propagated by Christianity, although of course I cannot speak for the Judaism that was around when the Christian Bible was written or when Christianity began to take shape as a distinct religion/faith.

[@vysharra]

I wondered the same. A quick google search of “Judaism profound sense of shame” gave me several pages of discussion on this matter. It’s a very interesting topic.

[@MsFeyCreature]

I've always thought of it more as guilt than shame. Guilt is more social and concrete, indicating you've done something wrong and need to make amends. I definitely got a sense from my lessons about Jewish morality that there is a high moral expectation (though obviously whether that leads to compassionate behavior depends on whose version of morality you're using). There is a great pressure to be good and significant social censure for being bad. Also, Judaism encourages a personal and public relationship with God and scripture. You're meant to engage and analyze and argue and form a consensus on what is good. Then you're supposed to follow that consensus. The Christian version of goodness often seems more abstract, which does make it very malleable. It's easy to tell if you're disrespecting your parents, but disrespecting God? Luckily a priest who's read the scripture (which for much of Christian history you hadn't) can tell you. Better yet, he can tell you that you were bad from the beginning and all you can ever do is be less bad, ensuring that you will always be struggling to overcome your natural sinfulness via a path set out by said priest.

[@Jerrytheworm]

Incredibly important stuff thank you for making this!

[@muddlewait8844]

Glad to see this drop!

[@Rime_in_Retrograde]

thanks for the video - it was very informative! I wish more people watched these.

[@DieFischbude]

I hate how history sounds like the prequel to Handmaid's Tale...