Let's talk about Abortion
Let's talk about Abortion
Why I'm pro choice
To me it's an issue of personal freedom. We live in a society where we have the technology to control our own reproduction. This is an advancement over the animals who have no choice. Animals have to reproduce because of their sexual instincts. Humans have the same instincts, but we now have birth control and abortion which allows us more control over when and how many babies we will have.
This choice gives us an advantage in that women can control when they will give birth so that they can do so at a time that is their choosing rather than by accident. It also give a woman control over how many children she will have. This allows for babies who are planned and are more likely to turn out better because they are wanted and a woman isn't stuck raising more kids than she can handle.
The planet is overpopulated. The population keeps growing. Overpopulation is our biggest threat to this planet and will be the issue of the 21st century. The number 1 environmental issue facing mankind is overpopulation. There's no point in talking about global warming, endangered species, the rainforests, acid rain, or other environmental problems without dealing with overpopulation first. And it seems logical to me that in looking for solutions to global population problems, the place to start is to terminate unwanted pregnancies. I am therefore for making it possible for anyone who wants an abortion to be able to get one.
Abortion is also an issue of personal freedom. Who should make that choice? Should the government decide when you are going to have kids? Should religious leaders control your reproduction? Or should you decide it for yourself? I believe that reproduction is a personal right and that it is no one's business other than the parents to make that choice. If the mother makes the wrong choice, it's her wrong choice to make. That's what personal freedom is all about. It's the right to make your own mistakes and not have the government make the mistakes for you.
As someone who supports choice, I also support a woman's right to have a baby as well as her right to not have one. I therefore favor programs that encourage adoption and make adoption easier so as to provide alternatives to expectant mothers. A woman shouldn't have to get an abortion in order to keep her job. So I'm with Henry Hyde and President Clinton on the Family Leave Law that was enacted. Pro choice isn't the same as pro abortion. It means choice to either have or not have children.
There are people who believe abortion is murder. I'm not one of them. One can hardly argue that we are at least killing something when we abort. However, as a society, we make choices of life and death all the time. For example, we let people in Africa starve to death all the time. Is that murder? I think it's comes closer to murder than abortion. "But they aren't Americans" you might say. So what. Is life determined by geographical location? As long as we let people starve to death or die in hospitals because of lack of money to pay for medical treatment, don't try to tell me abortion is murder.
When does life begin?
Does life begin at conception? Obviously not. The sperm and egg cells are alive before conception. Life began on this planet about 3 billion years ago and has continued to evolve in an unbroken chain since then. A woman is born with all the egg cells she will have her whole life. Therefore one of the two cells I came from dates back to my mother's birth in 1921. I guess I'm older than I thought.
Now that cloning technology exists, almost any cell can be grown into a potential life. That undermines the argument that a cell is a person. I stick with the legal definition which is that you become a person when you are born alive.
Religious Issues
There are many people of faith who believe that abortion is immoral. That's your religious opinion, not mine. if you believe that way then don't have an abortion. I am a free person in a free society and I have the right to not have to have your religion imposed on my life. America was founded by people who were escaping religious oppression and I am opposed to any form of state imposed religious beliefs.
I would suggest to those who oppose abortion that there is much they can do to reduce it without imposing their religion on others. You can work to make adoption easier, especially adoption of older and troubled kids. Make it easier to adopt across racial lines. Provide financial help to women who have to abort for financial reasons. If you want to prevent abortions, then you'll have to go to the trouble to offer an alternative so that more women will choose to not abort.
Another way to reduce abortions is to promote contraception. The less women get pregnant, the less abortions you have. Those who oppose abortion are often opposed to contraception. Which reveals their real agenda, that they are really opposed to sex. There are a lot of people who are taking advantage of the abortion issue as a front for their sexual behavior issues. My position on that is that my sexuality is none of your business.
Religious Control of Sex
I don't believe that most pro-lifers are sincere about life or really give a damn about the life of the baby. I say this because these same people are not the least bit interested in the welfare of the child after it's born. Many of these people are against all forms of contraception and birth control. They oppose sex education and sterilization which prevent the need for abortions. They are opposed to family planning. And many people that call themselves pro-life support terrorism against abortion doctors and abortion clinics.
What this is really all about is that they see sex as a sin and pregnancy as God's way of punishing women for being sluts. They believe that if you take away abortion and birth control that the fear of pregnancy will either force women to not have sex, or allow God to punish them through pregnancy.
I believe in religious freedom. If you want to believe that God is a sadistic sex pervert who gets his jollies out of torturing people forever with fire, you have the right to believe it. However, you don't have the right to impose your sick religion on me. And just because you have the right to believe what you want doesn't make your beliefs true or make you any less of a nut for believing it.
Money and Taxes
If society forces women to reproduce against their will, then we as a society have an obligation to care for, feed, provide clothing, and educate these innocent children to make them normal productive members of society. No matter what the parents did, the kids are innocent of any "sins" of the parents. Are the opponents of abortion willing to put their money where their mouth is? Are you willing to pass the massive tax increases and social programs to deal with raising these children who would have been aborted? I don't see any commitment from opponents of abortion to defend these children after they are born.
Who's Choice - The Mother or the Government?
Abortion isn't an easy choice to make. Women who are unexpectedly pregnant have to deal with tough choices. Teenage girls have to decide if they are going to become a mother instead of finishing high school or college. A married woman with three grown children gets pregnant at the age of 45 and doesn't want to have children younger than her grandchildren. These are tough choices to make, but they are personal choices that the woman who is pregnant has to make for herself.
"So what if she makes the wrong choice?", you might ask. Often women do make the wrong choice. They abort and feel guilty later. Or they don't abort and wish they did. This is America and we live in a free society where the people, not the government, makes personal choices. When people make their own choices, sometimes they make the wrong choice. That's life! That's what choosing is all about. But my point is that someone has to choose and it's up to the woman who is pregnant to make that choice. She is the one who has the right to be wrong, not the government. And certainly not a government controlled by a religion. If God gave us choice, who's Uncle Sam to take that choice away?
Adoption
One thing that would reduce abortion is reform of adoption laws making it easier for people to adopt children. There are people who want to adopt who can't because of government regulations. Race, for example, should not be a barrier to adoption. Why should children and parents be matched based on the frequencies of light the surface of their skin reflects? There are a lot of people in non-traditional families who would make great parents. When the government gets in the way of adoptions the number of abortions will be higher. More liberal adoption laws will allow women to have more choice in deciding an abortion question.
Teen Pregnancy, Slavery, and Prostitution
The most common form of prostitution in America isn't street walkers or escort services. The most common form of prostitution are young unwed mothers who have to do whatever it takes to find food and shelter for their children. If a woman without skills and family support is stuck trying to earn a living and support the children, she has few options. She is forced to find a man to move in with to take care of her and her kids. In order to get a man to do this, she has to have sex with him and be his personal slave so that she can survive. In many cases, she has no choice. Our society seems to find this acceptable. I don't. An abortion can prevent a teenager from having their lives ruined by an untimely pregnancy and allow them to finish school, learn a trade, and select the mate they want rather than being stuck with the first guy who comes along. Abortion liberates women from the life of a whore/slave and allows her to control her own life and decide for herself when and with whom she will have children.
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