Controversial Topics-Abortion

[whorlichan]

Abortion is another topic where the government and religious entities are butting in where they do not belong.

WARNING: THIS WILL BE LONG

Abortion should be the choice of the woman whose body is in question. HER choice--not her parents, like the new law in Florida, not her boyfriend or husband's (although they should be included in the discussion, which I'll touch on in a minute), not the doctors who refuse to perform it, and definitely not the priests or rabbis or whoever. It is no one's issue but her own, and no one but she should have the final say in it.

Do you think it's right? As in morally right? As in the right choice? That all depends on the girl it's happening to and her own beliefs. For myself, if I were ever to end up in a situation where I was pregnant (unlikely, as I'm on birth control) I would definitely have an abortion. It would be right for ME--I don't like children, don't want to deal with them, and definitely don't want to go through the pain and suffering of pregnancy and childbirth. Also, even though I don't like kids, I would never want to subject anyone to having me as a mother. I would suck royally, and I see enough kids who do not have happy home lives as it is. I KNOW I would be bad at it, and therefore I will not contribute to it, even by accident.

A couple more reasons as to my unwillingness to have children, besides the selfish ones of liking my life and (very little) free time as it is...I think if someone IS going to have children they should have a stable home life and a stable financial base to work from. I have very little money (still mooching off my own parents, who bought the house I am now living in and pay for pretty much everything) and I simply do not have the time or the energy to devote to a child. Again--I don't want them for OTHER reasons, but if I ever change my mind (highly unlikely) these are the first things I would consider.

Also, I'm Jewish, but not really practicing--more of the reformed Israeli-we-are-from-the-Chosen-Land-therefore-we-don't-really-have-to-do-anything sect--and by traditional Jewish law it's pretty well accepted for women to have abortions. From religioustolerance.org:

1. "The fetus has great value because it is potentially a human life. It gains "full human status at birth only."
2. Abortions are not permitted on the grounds of genetic imperfections of the fetus.
3. Abortions are permitted to save the mother's life or health.
4. With the exception of some Orthodox authorities, Judaism supports abortion access for women.

Lastly, I think that the decision to have an abortion should definitely be discussed, at the very least with the partner who got the girl pregnant. I don't think he should be allowed to force her to keep it just because he wants it (even if he will take sole responsibility for it once born), because she is the one who has to go through the traumatic experiences involved in the pregnancy and childbirth itself, even if she does not have to raise the child herself.

Do you think it should be used as a means of birth control? No. Definitely not. An abortion is a traumatic experience in and of itself, and should be one of the last resorts. Birth control and condoms are too easily accessible for anyone to have an excuse for not using them. Also, it's people who DO use abortion as a method of birth control that give those who really need it a bad precedent. I've known girls from high school who continuously got pregnant and got abortions each time, and it makes me sick.

My best friend and I went to Planned Parenthood together when we were 16 and got her a year-long supply of BC for about $40 and a huge assortment of condoms for free. I personally have been on BC since I was 12, for medical reasons, and so did not have need of Planned Parenthood, but I am always happy to know it's there. And condoms are given out free at many colleges, if not high schools. There's just no excuse to have abortions willy-nilly.

What times do you think abortion COULD be considered OK? Again, depending on the girl and her wishes, and often the circumstances, I think abortion is a great idea. There's no need to bring unwanted children into an already crowded world, even if they could be the one to cure cancer/AIDS/the common cold. There's been times when I have read newspaper articles about girls who were denied abortions and they made me LIVID. That 13-year-old in Florida, anyone remember her? She should not be having SEX much less getting pregnant, but the government would not allow her to have an abortion "for the good of the child." Well, SHE's a child too. Why didn't anyone care about her well-being? Eventually, it was appealed and she got it, but I don't even see why it was an issue.

As for rape victims--you guys have no idea what you're talking about. Adoption ONLY? Why should a girl who never wanted to have sex with this person have to suffer MORE memories of her horrible experience? Forget the depression and problems that come with being raped WITHOUT getting pregnant, and focus just on the emotional pain she'll be in from 9 months of carrying a rapist's child, even if she (again) doesn't have to raise it herself. And think about it this way--rape is a product of a mentally diseased mind, and why would you want to pass on that genetic heritage? Any rape victim should have access to abortion, the Morning-After Pill, whatever. It is her right, because she never consented to the act of procreation in the first place.

Do you think it should be against the law? No. I think it should be legal, and relatively cheap, and easily available, and then we would have no more problems with back-alley abortions and girls who can't afford it using their boyfriends to beat their stomachs and then get them arrested for it.

One last point, having to do with this issue: All those pharmacists who are refusing to give out birth control and the morning-after pill because they see it as a chemical abortion should be fired. I should not have to fight with a pharmacist after my doctor has agreed that it is better for MY HEALTH to be on this pill. A rape victim should not be denied the morning-after pill, because that simply forces her to go elsewhere and get a real, more painful, more traumatic abortion.