Is It The Life Of The Child That Matters, Or The Birth?

In light of the Pro-Life march that is taking place today, I thought I'd challenge the line of thought that is the Pro-Life argument. Keep in mind, I'm not trying to shut down a way of thinking, but rather challenging that mentality. I'm going to list the most common arguments associated with pro-life supporters and challenge them.

1. Abortions are murder

I find this to be an exaggeration and generalization of the truth. You can't kill something that isn't alive in the first place. An embryo is simply a collection of egg and sperm cells. It doesn't breathe. It doesn't have a heart beat. It doesn't feel. It doesn't live like a human lives. Think of it this way. Every time you take a shower or wash your hands, you are disposing of millions of skin cells, both living and dead. Would you have a funeral for every skin cell you washed down the drain? Would you consider bathing or washing your hands immoral? No, you wouldn't because it's important to keep ourselves clean. In the same way that it is necessary for us to dispose of skin cells to keep ourselves clean and healthy, so to is it with women that need abortions.

Now I will grant, that late-term abortions are a different category. There are instances where women decide to spontaneously not want a baby anymore after they've almost carried it to term. I have nothing to say for those women because I don't know what causes them to make that decision. However, there are instances where health complications arise during pregnancy that could require the mother to abort the fetus. The point is, don't assume that you know a woman's circumstances.

2. You knew the risk of having sex

This argument is quite flawed indeed. There are risks associated with everything we do in life. I'll give you two examples. You get on a roller-coaster because you like thrill rides. You know there are safeties in place to keep an accident from happening. Well despite that, the mechanism malfunctions and 2 dozen people die. Will you say that it was their fault for wanting to get on a roller coaster? Second example. You get a job that you really like. You work there for about 2 years. You then find out that you've been fired. Will you blame yourself for taking the job? Would you have been better off being unemployed and homeless? Because by your logic, that's what you're telling me. You're saying it would be better for women to carry a baby to term that they were not ready for. If they used contraceptives, birth control, etc. and there was still a pregnancy, it's not their fault. It's the fault of the contraceptives failing just as it wasn't your fault for getting fired. You can't justify an argument against, in essence, every action in life just because of uncertainty. If that's your logic, then you'd be better off not living at all.

3. Abortions are unholy

Hate to break it to you, but not everyone is religious. This is a so called, "nation under God" but we still promote rape culture by electing a man who is okay with groping women. Yes, that is the man you "pro-life" people voted for. And yet you claim to be men and women of God. As my mother always said, the devil's favorite place is the Church. Am I religious? Yes, I'm Catholic, but that doesn't mean I have to follow everything some man in a robe has to say to me. I am quite stout in my faith, but the Church is comprised of humans, not God so we're not obligated to follow every single thing they say.

4. Why should we have to pay for someone else's problems?

Really? If that's how you feel then you ought to just stop paying taxes altogether. Do you have any idea how many "problems" you pay for? Unpaid hospital visits, criminal imprisonment, immigration courts, military, public education, and the list goes on. All of these are "someone else's problems", but you don't seem to quarrel about them. So why are you so annoyed at abortions? Because someone chose to or were forced to engage in sexual activity and got pregnant? If that's how you feel then you should be mad at the existence of public servants. They chose to engage in those activities for our benefit and yes we have to pay for them.

Now you might say that abortions aren't for our collective benefit. But how true is that? Abortions can keep a child from having no parents, keep a mother alive, keep children from receiving inappropriate care. Tell me. If children are born and they don't have a mother/father, or the parents don't have the ability to afford caring for them, will you volunteer your services to make sure that child lives a healthy life? Because if your answer is no, then you aren't pro-life. You are pro-birth and henceforth a hypocrite. If you don't like abortions, then promote the use of contraceptives instead of your so called abstinence only mentality. You really expect people to follow something like that? That's like everyone in the world to not commit a crime. It's impossible. Someone will do it because that's human nature. If you don't want to promote a secondary intervention (in this case abortion) type measure, then promote primary intervention (contraceptives). If you won't promote either one, then you pro-lifers are just a bunch of people chanting some slogan that is opposite to your true intentions.