Abortion

Today nears the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade case, the case that legalized abortion, so I figured I would chip in my two cents.

As many of you have now noticed I’m sure, I lean a little to the right. Abortion is one of those things that is pretty cut down the middle of party lines, with Republicans disliking it, and Democrats being Pro-Choice. Many of the strictly religious have serious issues with abortion, claiming that it is an aberration of God, a deadly sin, and a one way ticket to Hell.

When a woman goes to get an abortion, she is suddenly faced with a choice that few are prepared for. Woman who do this most often do so without the support of their parents, or the would-be fathers. A few of them have the support of their closest friends, but due to the stigma, many don’t even let their friends know until after the deed is done.

So here is a woman, alone, making the choice of the future of their child. Many clinics have protesters outside of them more often than not, so as she gets out of her car she is faced with the screaming taunts of “Murderer!” and “Whore!” She then has to walk into the clinic, and tell the staff, “I do not want to be pregnant. I can’t have a baby right now because I’m in school/have a career/too poor/was raped/etc.” Then she has to sit and talk with a Doctor, who explains in detail the things that he is going to have to do. Some may even have to watch a video showing the process in all of its horror. Alone, in a sterile hospital room, knowing what is about to happen. Then finally, before the operation takes place she has to be asked one more time, “Are you sure that you want to do this?”

She goes home, and takes a shower. She then sees her boyfriend, or father, or mother, and no one can figure out what’s wrong. Her friends cry with her and hold her close, but at night, alone again, she has nightmares. As she grows older, and has a child, she thinks back, and remembers that day.

No amount of judgment from protesters or the likes of me will compare to the punishment a woman who does that puts herself through. It is not my right to judge other than to say it must take incredible strength to deal with. Then again, I will never carry a child or go through an abortion, so my fiction above could be terribly far off.

Abortion is the choice, and the right of the mother. It is a decision that none take lightly. I bet that even teenage mothers understand the gravity of that situation. Why is it our right to force her to have a child that she does not want, or isn’t prepared to have? Many people believe that children are a product of their environment. If a child grows up in an environment with a single mother who harbors any resentment about the child being the reason they dropped out of school or stopped pursuing a career, what quality of life will they have?

“Well, put it up for adoption then!” some will say. But how many children live their whole lives going from Orphanage to Foster Home and back, never having any consistency? What is their quality of life? Not all of them grow up to be Dave and create Wendy’s.

“You cannot play God!” Others say. All of us play God in some way or another. We create and destroy life every day, from roaches to humans. Christians say, “God has a plan for everything.” Muslims say, “Nothing can happen but for the will of Allah.” Most religions have that ultimate fallback when times are bleak. If you truly believe that, then is there any amount of science or trying that can stop the will of God? How hard could it be for God to make an operation fail, if he created the entire Universe?

Most religions also have a “Judge not lest ye be judged” in them as well, saying, “Do not judge other people, none are perfect. Let God Judge them when they meet him.” So is it our place to judge people on earth? Why should a woman be forced to have a child when she is 17, or 21 and in college, or without a father, or after she has been raped? Especially in the cases of teen pregnancies, many times the teen’s parents end up raising the child, is that fair to them?

I don’t believe in late term abortions however, unless for some reason it could be medically necessary. Having an abortion after you miss a period is completely different from having a doctor remove a developed baby. By that point you should have made your decision.

The bottom line, I believe, is that the choice to have an abortion lays on the mother, the father, and their Doctor. Mostly on the mother, for it is her who will have to carry it for 9 months. It is not for me, you, or the Government to decide. If you personally do not believe in abortions, then do not have them. But it is not our right to force our beliefs on another, which is not what America is about. Outlawing abortion would be much like outlawing certain guns. It does not stop them from being bought and sold; it just changes how it is done.

That would not stop a person from throwing themselves down a flight of stairs to try and force a miscarriage. The amount of babies found in trash cans would rise dramatically, and it would create a market for garage-door abortion agencies. How dirty would a place like that be with no regulation? How many would-be mothers would end up in jail for murder because they couldn’t have an abortion? Is it right to destroy two lives instead of one that hasn’t had one yet?