Abortion is something that elicits a reaction from a lot of people. I know that people have some strong opinions about it. I'm going to share mine at risk of backlash from those who feel opposite from me, but here goes.
I think abortion is a good advance in medicine, except when it's used as a form of birth control. That's why God made condoms and birth control pills and the like. One doesn't need to destroy her uterus because she couldn't get the man to put on a condom.
Despite the characterization of the women who get abortions, they are not callous bitches who think it's hip or cool to destroy life. They are people who are carrying life in their wombs and make a decision that it's not their time to have this baby. I personally think it's their choice and their right. For people who make their decisions on abortions to try and force those decisions onto other people isn't right. I think that applies to someone who tries to encourage abortion over adoption and it applies to someone who holds up a sign saying "God hates you for what you're doing" outside and abortion clinic.
Also, the decision to be anti-abortion is often based on a person's moral, ethical, or religious beliefs. In a country as diverse as this one, why is it fair that your moral beliefs outweight mine? I don't think they do. But that's why I wouldn't live in a state with crappy abortion laws. Crappy tax laws is about as much as I can take. But men can decide they don't want to be fathers with ease. They find out a woman is pregnant and they can just walk away; women didn't have that option until abortion came along. I'm not saying walking away is a good thing, I'm just saying it's a person's right. No one should be forced to be a parent. No one should be forced to be pregnant.
My personal beliefs about my body and abortion: I am not ready for a baby now. If I were pregnant, I would consider abortion. I doubt I'd actually go through with it, but it's not in my very specific family plan. I don't have any children, and unless I was in a stable relationship, I wouldn't want any.
My one regret about withdrawing from medical school is that I won't be able to perform abortions. I was going to be an OB/GYN and I was going to perform abortions. I wasn't going to have a full blown abortion clinic, but thankfully there are several states where you don't have to have one of those to be an abortion doctor. I just feel that in terms of women's health, it would've been a good thing to provide as many services as possible. I wouldn't have gone around encouraging women to get abortions, but I would've been there if that's the difficult conclusion they came to.
If I made an abortion law, most women would not be allowed to get an abortion past 8 weeks of pregnancy (that counts from conception, not last mentrual period). Week 8 is when the baby has nerves and organs and things that would make getting ripped apart pretty awful. And Week 8 is when the mother has missed two periods. She has had time to figure out something is amiss with her body and decide what to do. The exceptions would be rape and incest if she was prevented from coming to the doctor. Another bid excpetion would be in cases where carrying the baby poses a life-threatening risk to the mother or when a birth defect will significantly decrease a child's life quality/length. The same way a very religious mother can go against all doctor's advice and carry a baby that she knows will kill her to deliver, a not-so-religious mother should have the right to not carry a baby she knows will kill her to deliver.
The moral of the story is: I would pack my bags and move to a different state if I were a resident of Oklahoma or Nebraska. I don't plan on getting pregnant. But very few people who get abortions planned on it, and I wouldn't want to risk my entire future because some religious assholes in my state's Congress decided for me what I can do with my body.
4 New Hypotheses:
Well this might be way longer than anyone will actually read but here ya go.
First I get pegged as a Repub. That I surely am not, I don't like them either. I stack up as a Libertarian if I have to choose. I don't care if someone has an abortion, nor do I care why they have it. I DO care if it costs me money. I have posted this stance probably 10 times on my blog(s) and only look at this issue as a self thought/growth issue.
I hope I don't end up being confrontational as I often do. Here ya go.
Abortion, as you say is an advance in medicine in the fact that it can save the life of the mother in cases where she would die or be incapacitated though the process of child birth.
You say it is their "right" to abort a viable fetus. Look up the definition of murder. To end the life of a viable fetus, hmmmm. This is the crux of my questions about abortion. A viable fetus should have rights. HUMAN rights. Abortion (used in any instance except to save the life of the mother) is the greatest human rights violation in the history of mankind. It used to be slavery, but abortion has replaced it. What greater right can a human have that to have a chance to live? At least in slavery I can choose death over life, in abortion Little Billy or Suzie has no choice.
The woman effectively made her decision when she decided to have sexual intercourse with someone she did not want to have children with. There is only one way someone can become pregnant that they might want to have an abortion, if they do not participate in that action then they will never have to choose the outcome of a human life in that capacity. So they did choose.
I do agree that the "god hates you" people are radical idiots, every group has them, and they get the most press.
"Based on moral, religious, ethical beliefs" I sure hope I make decisions based on morals and ethics and human rights at the forefront. I DESIRE to be a moral and ethical man, I WANT to stand up for human rights.
"Why do their moral beliefs outweigh mine" They don't. The rights of the human, you (the person having the abortion), are refusing to allow exist outweigh yours.
"The man gets to choose"
The man does not get to choose. The man must pay for the child or go underground, change his SS# get paid in cash etc if he doesn't want to pay for the child. The woman has the same choice the man has she can adopt out the child and not have to raise or pay for it.
Abortion is nearly 100% man law, made by men, defended by men. MEN win when a woman aborts. Abortion allows men to have sex with whoever whenever they want and NOT have to suffer 18 years of financial obligation. The MAN is the ONLY one forced to be a parent at least financially.
If they wanted to be equitable in the law they would give the MAN 8 weeks to opt out of parenthood. From the time the man knows the woman he bred is pregnant he should have 8 weeks to decide if he wants to parent or pay for the seed he has sown. Equanimity, remember? (Obviously I am not for that either but it would be fair)
You use "woman's health" as a term. It does affect womens health when they choose to have sex with someone they don't want to breed. Why is it that we want to address the effect and not the cause? I would never do that in any facet of my life if I knew the cause. Would you? Knowing that driving with a blindfold on will likely cause a crash would you do it? Would you do that and then want to really go full bore into finding a way to save and repair people who crashed while driving blind folded? Or would you say "Don't drive with a blindfold on"?
Seems like treating the cause is the better route, but that is just me.
I get some flack about rape and incest. Now I don't know how much incest there is anymore but I am sure there is some and in cases like that then sure nobody (or nobody with sense) would be against abortion in that circumstance. Pregnancy in the event of rape though can be curtailed with the morning after pill. If for some reason it could not be then again I can't see people being against abortion there.
Again I could care less as long as it doesn't cost me. What I am against is people making poor decisions then it all of a sudden being a "right" that they don't have to lay in the bed they made.
One other thing, the founder of Planed Parenthood and the single person who most supported and advanced the abortion laws we have today was unquestionably and undeniably Margaret Sanger. If you don't know about her you should Google Sanger, Racism, Abortion see where that takes you. Abortion was born out of racism. Evidently Mrs Sanger thought one group of people were multiplying much to fast. I would never ever be associated with an outfit like that nor would I stand behind their beliefs.
The founding document of these United States states clearly and without any question, that there are unalienable rights, sovereign rights of ALL. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Only one of these is a must to have the other two.
Life.
The real question is simple. If there is a right that trumps all others what is it? The founders think it is life. I'm thinking that is a no brainer. If life is the Ace of Spades then it must be allowed before any other right is considered.
I'll take my stand with those folks.
Think about it.
Dang I had no idea there was a character count. Sorry folks for the long rambling comment.
I'm stuck in the middle in terms of abortion. I do agree that there are some cases where abortion should be an option, no questions asked. But I also don't think it should be used as a Plan B. If you accidentally get pregnant because you choose not to use birth control, or it's not effective, then I don't think it should be used, except in certain circumstances.
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