Why I think abortion should be illegal.
Not a title you see everyday from someone who is more or less considered a liberal. Its the one sticking point I seem to have with friends and colleagues who fancy themselves this side of the political spectrum as well. The other day a friend of mine who disagrees with my point of view suggested I “…do a post about it on that website you write for…”
Far be it from me to ever back down from a challenge.
Now if I could just get the last strap on this flak jacket fastened, I’ll be set.
Abortion should be illegal.
Period.
Prance around and justify it anyway you want. Manslaughter is still manslaughter any way you look at it. Disguising it as population control, a woman’s right to choose, etc. doesn’t take away from the fact that it is still killing an unborn child.
Let me start by saying that I don’t think this opinion conflicts with my belief that women have the right to choose what to do with their bodies. I think it is where the choice lies that has gotten us out of sorts on this issue. Women have the right to choose. With the exception of rape cases, a woman can choose to have, or not to have sex anytime she wants. I think this is where the choice lies; not in what to do afterward.
Sex is a biological function, and like any action it has a reaction (or consequence). I think its terrible that the vast majority of americans look at abortion as an appropriate form of damage control for when they “mess up” (read: get pregnant). Terminating a pregnancy for what boils down to it not being convenient to have the baby at the time (by far the leading reason for abortions these days) doesn’t cut it with me.
While their are cases in which I personally believe an abortion could be warranted or acceptable (to save the life of the mother, rape cases), I believe that using abortions as a form of birth control is appalling.
Does it suck for women that they have to bear the brunt of the reproductive burden for the species? Yes, but that’s biology, or natural selection, or evolution, or God, or Allah, or Yaweh, or Karma, or Dharma or whatever you believe in.
Just because that future child is surrounded by embryonic fluid at the time, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have sensory response. If you know someone who is pregnant, see if they will let you put a flashlight up to their stomach…watch the child chase the light…its amazing how early they’ll start doing this.
Now, contrary to what is probably a popular assumption, I don’t want to “punish” women for having sex, have it all you want, women.
If you’re hot, have it with me.
Realize, however, that is where the “choice” begins and ends. You made the choice for your body as to whether or not you wanted to have sex. The results of which should not be dealt with by discarding the life of a child, because it simply isn’t a good time in your life to have one.
So go ahead, in the comments section bring me your arguments about risk of death due to pregnancy (less than 1/1000th of a percent, vs the much greater risk of death of the mother on the abortion table), and a woman’s right to choose (you did choose, unless raped, to have sex in the first place-welcome to responsibility). Tell me I’m an anachronistic relic, a by-product of an outdated christian upbringing, a chauvenistic mysoginyst who only wants to punish women for having sex. Tell me no women will date me , I never get laid and never will, or any of the other myriad of baseless assumptions I usually hear.
Go ahead, repeat the tired arguments of others.
In my opinion, it is still manslaughter.
The views expressed on this blog are the opinion of the author and should not be taken as fact.