User blog comment:Morganaforever/Reviving your children/@comment-5674726-20121120192514

Coming late to the discussion but it's a question I pondered before.

Could it be a case of Uther not preferring Morgana over Arthur but being more protective of her?

Arthur was the Crown Prince, the future ruler of Camelot. He was expected to be a warrior and a leader which meant that he was exposed to threats to his life. Uther could try to reduce the danger somewhat by forbidding Arthur to take pointless risks, ie. going after the antidote when Merlin was poisoned but he couldn't keep Arthur safe at home while the knights handled any and all threats to Camelot. Arthur needed to prove that he was strong and worthy of the throne, Dangerous situations are not unheard of, or even unusual, for Arthur.

Morgana, on the other hand, is the child that Uther would feel that he can be more protective of. Nobody will think less of either of them if he keeps her as far from danger as he possibly can while the knights and soldiers take the risks. She was injured in a fluke accident inside the palace, where he should have been able to keep her safe, and it happened not long after she was restored to him after being held prisoner for a year.

Uther may also have felt that, if he allowed the use of magic to save Arthur, it wouldn't be a one-time thing and he wouldn't want to repeatedly rely on magic. With Morgana, he could tell himself that it was a once-off and that he'd be able to keep her safe from then on.