Aliza Shvarts, Abortion and Art

Our culture's commitment to abortion,the hatred so many young women feel toward their own bodies from coming of age in a hypersexualized society and our educational elite's loss of all moral direction come together today in a single story.

Over a nine month period, Yale senior Aliza Shvarts repeatedly got herself pregnant and aborted her child "as often as possible."  Her abortions were the do-it-yourself kind. She used herbal supplements to induce her abortions while she lay in a bathtub.

Why did she do this? Well, for an art project, of course.

From the story:

Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

Shvarts... said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages....

The display of Shvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

The mind nearly boggles.

No doubt, Shvarts has been schooled in the romantic tradition of the arts that claims art must be "transgressive" to be significant.  She probably wanted to earn the respect of her teachers by creating a project that would shock the sensibilities of the philistines and hillbillies.

Unfortunately, she has succeeded. Every voice lifted in outrage against her behavior will likely be taken by her and her mentors as a pat on the back, confirmation that they were right all along.

Only a young person could have done this. Only they have the right mix of niavete and recklessness. When she is older Shvarts will wonder who her children might have been. The regret will break her or harden her. Either way, it won't be good

Shvarts said she has no concerns about the physical effects of the abortions, because the potions she used were herbal. Again, only a young person would be so niave to believe this kind of behavior won't exact a spiritual, emotional and, ultimately, physical price.

The real culprits here are those who encouraged and permitted this. Professors and teachers who should have seen the desire to engage in this project as a signal from a seriously troubled girl were instead blinded by their own secular, pro-abort philosophy. As a result, they gave their grinning approval to a young woman's self-destructive behavior and to the destruction of her children. They should be ashamed of themselves, and would be, except that they are no longer capable of feelings so backward as shame.

NOTE: Jill Stanek points out the Yale Daily News article repeatedly uses the term "forced miscarriage" and makes a point I have made in the past. She says:

I don't know why proponents have such a hard time with the word ABORTION.

Yeah, you have to wonder.