In this ever changing society, I've always managed to somehow stay true to my belief systems, particularly when it comes to the pro-life movement. There's a chance this is due to my Catholic upbringing, or perhaps I'm simply narrow-minded like many would hastily claim, but let's talk about why I view abortion the way I do.
We hear it all the time,
"My body, my choice!"
I find this argument both misguided, and deeply concerning as to where society stands today in our priorities. When I say 'misguided', I mean that although yes, for the most part you do decide what you can an cannot do with your body, however that choice comes into play when you choose to have sexual relations with another person. Any sensible adult human is aware of the risks, no matter how large or small, when they jump in bed with their partner. So yes, you do have a choice about what to do with your body; however, when you choose to terminate a pregnancy, it is no longer your body you are making a choice for. The beautiful gift of life inside of you is not your body, but your child's.
Now, when I say that this argument is concerning to me, it's because this (like many other pro-choice defenses) comes from a deeply selfish place. This argument trumps the choice and convenience of a mother to the life of a child. Shouldn't we allow for a human to LIVE before allowing a mother to live the way in which she pleases? It worries me which one society, as a whole, values over the other.
Another popular argument in the pro-choice movement is,
"Abortion should be legal to make it safer".
Now I am ALL for the safety of others. But who are we talking about when we are talking about safety here? The last time I checked half the people in every abortion end up dead. Sure it makes it safe for the mother, at the cost of the safety and ultimately the life of another. This hardly sounds safe to me.
"It isn't even a human yet"
When Roe v. Wade was passed in January of 1973, we didn't know what we do today about life in the womb; however we sure know a lot now. From the moment of conception, a child has it's own set of human DNA distinct from their mother and father. 3 weeks (22 days) after this, the major organs have grown, and the child's heart is beating, and blood and is circulating throughout it's tiny body. By 6 weeks, we begin seeing the baby's shape take take better form. By 3 months a baby has its own unique set of finger prints. I mean, I could really go on and on.
"What about rape victims?"
This is where things get trickiest, mostly because it is an extremely sensitive topic; however it is important to note that these only account for less than 1% of all abortions.
Now, I can only imagine rape to be a horrendous thing to deal with, and to end up pregnant due to it can only be more terrifying, and many argue that because of the psychological distress and turmoil that carrying, and possibly raising this baby could cause, that aborting the child should always be an acceptable option, especially because they never chose this. With that being said, we have to take some things into account when it comes to aborting babies that are a product of such a terrible act. First, the child inside of you hasn't done anything wrong, and didn't choose this either. He/she is an innocent 3rd party. Also, why do we have a right to kill someone because seeing them is painful? It is not like we have the right the kill the rapist himself, and yet I would imagine this would be the most painful person to see. Terminating a child's life in these situations only adds a second victim to the situation.
Abortion is a difficult topic, and often a sensitive one. It truly breaks my heart to see all these tiny, voiceless humans taken at the hands of those who are supposed to be protecting them. But to all the mothers who have gone through with the act of abortion, I still love you dearly, and I could never hate you. I strongly believe these situations need to be handled with nothing but genuine love toward everyone involved, and I hope one day we can see an end to abortion.
