I might as well jump in with a big one! Abortion Rights has been a flashpoint in our country for so long that I cannot remeber a time when were not discussing this issue.
Here are the two extremes as far as I can tell:
1. A woman has the absolute right, without restriction, to choose what happens with her body. That includes the right to availability of safe abortion procedures on demand.
2. Life begins at conception and the act of abortion is no different than commiting a murder and should be illegal and banned.
People on both sides of this issue have lots to say on the subject. For example, some people in favor of unrestricted abortion rights beleive that any attempt to deny those rights is a ploy by men to keep women subjugated by reproduction. It means that poor women who cannot afford an abortion continue to live in poverty and it promotes child abuse of unwanted children. They may also say it is an effort by the Christian Right to impose their morality on us all.
The other side says that if you don't want the responsibility of dealing with a pregnancy, don't engage in the act that creates the responsibility. They also say that by killing an unwanted fetus we may be ending the life of a person who could be the one that cures cancer or finds the path to world peace.
Now, I'm not even talking about funding and whether or not tax dollars should be used to pay for the procedure. Just whether or not the procedure should be available. So what is the middle ground here?
Thankfully, this is not a choice that I will ever have to make. Honestly, I don't know how a woman does it. Not the actual abortion, but the thought process they must go through to even decide. I'm not sure I am satisfied that abortion is a "right" but I know that I am not satisfied with the alternatives our society offers to women.
For example, instead of telling men and women to abstain from sex, why not provide more education and access to birth control devices that might reduce the number of these unwanted pregnancies in the first place? For our children who are engaging in sex at an earlier age than ever (I was talking to a middle school teacher friend just recently and found out that over Spring break a number of the 8th grade girls decided to have sex for the first time) we need to make sure that there is more supervision by parents to not give them the opportunity to experiment with something that might impact their lives forever.
If, despite our best efforts, an unwanted pregnancy occurs, we need to, as a society, offer support to this soon to be mother so that she recieves the best pre-natel care and then help with the adoption process so that the mother knows that her baby will be taken care of if she carries it to term. If we are unwilling to do this, then as a society we cannot say with any moral standing that an abortion is not an option.
I think, and I hope that some women will respond, if as a society we provided the eduction and preventive support and if we provided the pre-natel care and adoption support, then abortion would become a much less utilized procedure. I think it should still be available to those who are unable to have a satisfactory result from the alternatives, but if by providing these capabilities we can reduce the number of abortions don't we all win?
My guess is that in the long run, this type of support will cost society less than either the continuation of abortions at current levels or the banning of abortion with the resulting increase in children who are unwanted or abused, and the mothers and families that struggle financially to deal with a decision made by others and imposed on them.
What do you think?
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It is important to keep in mind the difference between the concept of personhood and concept of human life. It is true that human life begins at conception but when does personhood begin? If we become concerned about preserving all human life than where does that leave fertilized eggs not used in the IVF process (for example). If we agree that a fertilized egg that was going to be used for IVF does not deserve protection then would early stage abortion follow this same logic?
ReplyDeleteThere is also the argument that by not providing safe and legal abortions the only ones that are truly hurt are the poor because if you have enough money you will find a way to terminate a pregnancy while the poor will be left with unsafe termination choices.
But I think for me, what is even more important, is the fact that my right to choose what I will or will no do with my body, my future, my life should not be governed by other people’s morality. If I chose not to see a fertilized egg as a life it is my choice and just because someone else believes that God made it a human right from the start does not mean I have to believe that, just as I do not have to believe there even is a God.
Having said all of this I do think that offering pre-natal care and support is a great idea. There is a stigma that hangs over adoption and shame that is associated with unwanted pregnancy. If not having to cover up an unplanned pregnancy was made easier then perhaps more women would make difference choices. But the word choice should not get lost…it is a choice…a woman’s choice. It is her body and her choice.