By Morgan
To be pro-choice is not to be pro-abortion. There is no such thing as pro-abortion.
When a husband takes his comatose wife off of life support, that does not mean he wants her to die. When a mother takes care of her sick child, that does not mean she derives pleasure from the vomit of her kin. Every day, people do things that are hard for them, things that they don’t want to have to do, things that make them question their moral codes and their priorities. Every day, people have to make decisions that impinge on their lives not just for that day, but the entirety of their lives. These decisions, within the parameters of the law, are our own prerogatives, as we are the only ones who are equipped to understand our very own unique circumstances.
Abortion is not something that anybody enjoys or takes pleasure in, but are a necessary reality nonetheless. Abortions are personal, emotional, and pragmatic. Abortions have to do with quality of life, both for the pregnant women and for the zygotes that are provided with the controversial fate of never being given life, versus being given a life that won’t be able to treat them well, and that might not allow them to thrive.
One might say that adoption is a superior and ethically sound alternative to abortion. Is this so? Millions of children around the world are homeless or living in orphanages or foster homes, and the vast majority of them will never be adopted. Are there not enough children in this world to pick from? Is it better to have more neglected children in this world than it is to terminate pregnancies in their first trimesters?
There are innumerable circumstances that contribute to women’s or couples’ choices to have abortions, but the take home point is that it is nobodies first choice. Nobody gets pregnant with the intention of having an abortion- the choice to have an abortion is never taken lightly, and is a personal choice that is very difficult to make.
Nobody is pro-abortion.
This was such a smart read. It ALWAYS bugs me when people call it being “pro-abortion”.
This is so good and powerful. I do wonder what the other side may say to this though.
I don’t agree that ending a life to avoid inconvenience is something a civilized people would do. And, please stop saying that killing a child is an answer to any problem. Including, poor parenting environments. People used incest, rape and health of the mother to work on the sympathies of voters. What percentage of abortions have been perfromed because of inconvenience? We have a perceived population overage and we have stooped to Speciesism to deal with the issue. No? Terminate a Condor egg (Zygote?) and you’ll be in prision.
Abortion isn’t necessary. Responsible sexual activity, is. We have sacrificed the potentials of millions of children (Zygotes?) in the name of self-centered motives. Pointing out that other cultures breed without restraint doesn’t make a case for abortion. It makes the case that, as a group, humans are short-sighted and undisciplined. Saying that humans are unable to control or channel our sexual impulses is like saying we should stop using tools and go back to our caves. We are better than that, for the sake of the unborn, we have to be better than that.
Responsible sexual activity should be promoted and practiced by everybody- I am in complete agreement with you in that regard. However, are you aware of how insufficient and ineffective sexual education is in schools across America? Many a teenager, due to no fault of his or her own, is unequipped to effectively prevent pregnancy. If you want to stop the necessity of abortion, I suggest that you find a way of educating all youths in how to prevent pregnancy- quite a feat. Hopefully, one day this will be a reality and abortions will no longer be a means of terminating unintended pregnancies, but I would vouch to say that it is more humane for an uneducated teenager to get an abortion than to raise an underprivileged child.
Secondly, abortions are not only the consequence of unintended pregnancy; a responsible and educated adult can willingly become pregnant and then face unexpected circumstances which hinder her from taking care of a child.
And yes, for the record, there is a scientific distinction between a baby and a zygote. During the first 9 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus can feel no pain and has no brain activity. It weighs less than 8 grams and its organs do not function.