Deus Ex: Human Revolution is about abortion

This is a L.I.M.B. Clinic. In future Detroit, this is the place you would go to get a new metal arm, leg, an eyeball that can see through walls, or a parachute that can deploy out the back of your neck. Body augmentation is expensive, and a lot of future Detroit citizens do not agree with a human being mechanically enhancing themselves. So, what do these purists do when the clinic simply won't shut down and continue to replace the body parts of consenting adults with robotic ones? They burn the fucking clinic down! Sound familiar?

I love where video games are going in terms of discussing real world problems. Developers are inserting their opinions into the games they craft, and it becomes so much more than a political conversation when you are manually navigating a specially designed world where this problem is happening. Bioshock Infinite had a very specific message about the history of our nation, Prey forced us to witness the plight of the modern Native American, Mass Effect was a controversial decision making gauntlet, and I distinctly remember saying aloud while playing LA Noire, "I don't care if he's the guy, just make the arrest so we can move on." 

So when I walk down the streets of Detroit future, and up the steps to a Limb clinic to get my new lungs that can filter poison gas installed in my chest, Im assaulted by protesters, dicks with signs, screaming slogans like, "Stop playing god!", "We won't be slaves to super soldiers!", and my favorite, "Looks like your new ugly augmentation is working just fine". The idea of evolution falling out of nature's hands and directly into a technology corporation may be a little disturbing, but the game developers here have found a very clever way of discussing scientific advancement, specifically, the kind that can alter our bodies. 

Yes, I know that the game isn't all about augmentation. You travel to China and discover that a computer, not a person, is in complete control of every piece of news that the world's public sees, and controls what conversations we have about it. It's a big conspiracy and completely sentient artificial intelligences always terrify me, but that is a post for another day. Pro-choice is where I stand, so rip the baby out, and give me a new metal ass while you're down there please.

Even in the future, Detroit is still Detroit