Consistently Opposing Killing Quotes

“The power of language to color one's view of reality is profound. In many instances, the most significant factor determining how an object will be perceived is not the nature of the object itself, but the words employed to characterize it. Operating through the lenses of contrasting linguistic symbols, two persons looking at the same phenomenon are likely to come up with sharply divergent observations. Words can also act as a force for justice or a weapon of repression, an instrument of enlightenment or a source of darkness.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“Nonviolence begins in inner struggle; the struggle against enmity and to keep anger, fear, and greed from having sway over us.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“Pro-choicers have convinced the public that legalized abortions are an act of mercy toward low-income mothers. They argue that government-funded abortions need to be more accessible to the poor. However, this kind of argument defies all reason, if you really think about it. The whole idea that poverty is an acceptable reason for the murder of unborn babies has had a devastating impact on the African-American community.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“Our patriarchal political leaders make abortion available instead of dealing with male responsibility for unplanned pregnancies.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“We are moved by what pro-life feminists call the "consistency thing" -- the belief that respect for human life demands opposition to abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, and war. We don't think we have the luxury or the right to choose some types of killing and say that they are all right, while others are not. A human life is a human life; and if equality means anything, it means that society may not value some human lives over others.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“Linguistic reduction of victims to an insignificant, despicable, or dangerous level helps stimulate the kind of destructive thinking that leads ultimately to destructive actions. The victims are cast in such a negative or inconsequential light that whatever is done to them, no matter how horrendous, is considered perfectly justifiable.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War

“The consistent life ethic, when used by people who actually mean it, does not water down opposition to abortion, but strengthens it. It puts it in the category of violence, where it belongs.”
― Rachel M. MacNair, Consistently Opposing Killing: From Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War