We’ve all heard the typical arguments from pro-choicers that attempt to dehumanize unborn children. “It’s just a blob of tissue.” “It’s not a life; it’s just a clump of cells.” Surprisingly, on Monday night’s episode of HBO’s Silicon Valley, created by Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Office Space), we were reminded of the true humanity of the unborn child and what exactly happens in every abortion - the ending of a human life.
In Monday’s episode, appropriately called “Blood Money,” main character Richard (Thomas Middleditch) was offered a billion dollars by a mobster investor for 10% of his Internet tech company Pied Piper. Normally he wouldn’t consider teaming up with a reputed criminal, but the large sum of money had him reeling with even more nervous energy than he normally displayed.
Richard turned to board member and advisor Monica (Amanda Crew) for advice on whether to accept the offer or not. She, too, became a bundle of nerves when she heard the amount offered. Not wanting to be responsible for such a decision, she offered an interesting excuse for why she can't be trusted with major decisions:
Monica: Do not touch. It's an e-sign. You touch that button, it's over.
Richard: Tell me what to do. Monica, this is your job!
Monica: Look, when my sister got pregnant her freshman year of college, I said get an abortion. Well, now my niece, Dakota, who is very much with us, calls me "Aunt Abortion." I'm sorry. You are the CEO; this is on you.
Not sure if the writers realize what they’ve done with this scene. In just two lines, they have shown exactly what happens with every abortion --- a real, living human being’s life is ended.
Life is a continuum from conception until death. While a fetus (which simply means “little one” in Latin) may not look like an infant, neither does an infant look like a toddler, nor a toddler a teenager, nor a teenager a fully grown adult, nor an adult an elderly person. But they are all a living human being from the moment of conception until their life ends.
In this fictional situation, had Monica’s sister taken her advice, it would have been Dakota’s life that would have been ended. Whether she was called a “clump of cells” or a “blob of tissue,” it was still Dakota who was growing and thriving in the womb in her earliest stages of life.
Hopefully the scene gave even just one pro-abortion viewer pause and helped them to reconsider their position on the issue in light of the humanity of every unborn child.
