Is a modest proposal by Jonathan Swift in favor of pro-choice or pro-life?

Answer 1

First, it should be noted that such terms did not exist in Swift's day, nor was his book about abortion. Rather, it was a satire about the callous attitude some in Ireland and Great Britain had towards the poor, and how the rich land-owners in Ireland ignored the suffering of impoverished families. As such, it is difficult to cast the story in a "pro-life/pro-choice" context, since Swift's analysis was directed at the social classes, and what he saw as the cruelty and indifference of the rich towards the poor: his satirical point was that since the poor were of no value to the society, why not create a value for them by using them for food? Actually, the book might more accurately be a cautionary tale about the need for family planning: there were so many Irish people having large families they could not afford to feed or care for, and a good modern solution would be to encourage the use of birth control. But that too was not a conversation Swift's generation would have had.