I was rewatching the TV show Superman & Lois. In that show, Clark and Lois have twin boys who are 16. Their son Jonathan Kent was taking an illegal super drug called “X-Kryptonite”, and Lois and Clark blew up at him. I wonder if they have this energy for abortion because I know damn well Clark and Lois are pro-choice.
So I hate how they violated Jon’s autonomy.
and this applies to real life too; “my body, my choice” should apply to drug use too.
When you deny someone an abortion, you’re denying them healthcare.
When a parent denies their underage child, with a brain that is still developing, hard drugs I think that is appropriate parenting. Taking hard drugs probably has limited social or medical benefit, if any.
So when a parent denies their underage child drugs they are essentially protecting them (from themselves) whereas if they deny an abortion they are taking away a future, if you consider the fully formed person autonomous.
Not really comparable if you scratch beyond the surface.
Drugs people use illegally have overlap with drugs prescribed as medicine, like amphetamines for adhd and opioids for pain management. Who gets to decide what is healthcare on behalf of the individual? Doctors, parents, governments, insurance companies? There is a lot of room between them to get it wrong. In all of these cases authorities are claiming to be protecting people from making what they say is the wrong choice. Of course it is in some cases, and parents probably should be pressuring their children not to take dangerous drugs, especially for reasons that are not healthcare. But if there are authorities that deny that something is healthcare, and that’s contested, “my body, my choice” is a slogan that implies it should be the individual that decides.