Since Covid-19 first made its appearance and began sweeping across the earth, Watson and Davis have railed against mask wearing, social distancing and vaccine mandates from their pulpits and church platforms. They claim that mandating compliance with these public health measures infringes upon their rights to make health decisions for themselves. In fact, they see such mandates as part of a broader effort on the part of government to take away their rights and impose its malevolent control over their lives. They believe that they should be able to research the available options and make their own health choices. Bill and Adrian have bristled at the fact that many platforms (including the Church of God International's website) have banned them from promulgating their anti-vaxxer views. They believe that this has infringed upon their freedom of expression/speech. They have bristled at mask-wearing and social distancing standards as erecting impediments to their freedom of assembly and right to practice their religious beliefs in the manner which they see fit. Indeed, they have even drawn parallels to the biblical language surrounding the infamous "Mark of the Beast" (not being able to buy or sell without it).
It is interesting to note that Watson and Davis appear to not see any inconsistency in their anti-mandate stance and their anti-abortion stance. However, it is apparent to many of us that Bill and Adrian have adopted some of the very same arguments in favor of their opposition to public health mandates that pro-choice folks have used to defend access to abortion. Pro-choice advocates point out that outlawing abortions deprives a woman of the right to make her own health decisions. For them, it is entirely a question of being able to exercise control over their own bodies and make their own decisions about whether or not they will reproduce. Hence, any attempt by the government to limit or eliminate access to the medical procedure known as an abortion is seen by them as a direct infringement upon their rights. They also see efforts to deprive them of the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy as an infringement on their rights to research the moral/religious and health implications of an abortion and make their own choices. As a consequence, they see these things as having a direct impact on counseling about reproductive choices. Hence, for them, abortion also has profound implications for their freedom of religion and expression.
What about the rights of those with weakened immune systems - the vulnerable among us? Once again, Bill's and Adrian's responses are much the same as those of the pro-choice folks to questions about the rights of a fetus. My rights and life must take precedence over those of the weak and vulnerable. My rights should not be limited or infringed upon to protect the lives of the innocent and vulnerable. OR If those don't work, we're not really hurting or harming anyone anyway! This is nature's way of dealing with this (pro-choice folks point out that spontaneous abortions occur all the time). Masks, social distancing and vaccine mandates are the things that are really harming everyone - especially the healthy. Pro-choice folks like to remind everyone that backstreet abortions kill women, just as Bill and Adrian claim that mRNA vaccines sterilize, make sick or kill people.
While the similarities and parallels between these positions will be apparent to most of my readers, Bill and Adrian see absolutely no inconsistencies inherent in their positions on mandates and their anti-abortion views. They are blind to the fact that they are employing the same arguments that pro-choice folks use to support the right of a woman to obtain an abortion. Indeed, there are none so blind as those who will not see!
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