Morality & the Walking Dead -- Euthanasia, Suicide, Abortion

      Abortion, euthanasia, and suicide are three inextricably interwoven moral controversies that present themselves in seasons one and two of The Walking Dead. Jim is left to die on the side of the highway by his own request on the group’s journey to the CDC. At the CDC Jenner and Jackie opt out of the apocalyptic nightmare by committing suffer-less suicide. Later on Hershel’s farm, Lori discovers she is pregnant and initially attempts to abort it.

      We, as a society, have yet come to any solid consensus on the moral statuses of these issues. We generally speak of them, though, with a sour taste in our mouths. For if our biological purpose is to live and procreate, the act of ending our life and/or the lives of our friends and family is the most biologically counterintuitive act we could possibly commit. Yet, death is chosen over life on a daily basis.