A child is being aborted

Abstract

What can Freud’s seminal paper on sadomasochistic masturbation fantasies—“A Child Is Being Beaten”—tell us about the fantasy behind anti-abortion politics? Would Freud be surprised by the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade? Ever attentive to the vicissitudes of the primal scene, sibling jealousy, misogynistic hatred directed towards women at the intersection of sexuality and motherhood, a return to Freud gives new perspective on an old dogma.