I was scrolling through Odyssey’s Facebook page last week and I came across an article denouncing abortion and the pro-choice movement. As someone who is a proud pro-choice advocate, I felt obligated to respond. While I respect the Ms. Walker, the author's opinion on such a controversial topic, I am forced to point out several serious flaws in your overall argument.
Ms. Walker starts off by citing the opinion of Dr. Jerome LeJune, a genetics professor at the University of Descartes in Paris, France. You then proceed to discredit Dr. LeJune’s statement—which supports her claims—because he is “a professor out of the country.” I don’t quite understand the rationale behind the defamation of your own source. It’s clear that these comments were supposed to come across in a cute, tongue-in-cheek kind of way, but it is completely irrelevant to the argument at hand. You do this again in the next paragraph, criticizing Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth for having a hyphen in her last name. How the hyphenation of her last name is at all relevant to her standing in the scientific community is beyond my comprehension. Who knows, maybe you had a very logical reason for attacking your own sources in such a petty and irrelevant way. Obviously, you and I have two very different definitions of logic when it comes to forming arguments.
To end that paragraph, Ms. Walker writes, “so, sticking to definitions, intentionally cutting this life short is called murder.” Unfortunately, she only got half of that statement correct. Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of one human being by another. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973, abortion has been legal in the United States. So, sticking to definitions, abortion can not be defined as murder.
From here Ms. Walker goes on to talk about her beliefs as a self-proclaimed “follower of Christ.” Out of respect for Ms. Walker and her system of beliefs, I have chosen not to attack this segment of her argument. I only ask that she recall what we all learned in our high school government class, that America was intended to have a secular government. Legislation can not, and should not, be drafted based on anyone’s religious beliefs.
The next point Ms. Walker touches on is the health and safety of the women choosing to have these abortions. To her credit, Ms. Walker makes a very compelling argument here. However, studies have shown that a mother’s risk of dying from an abortion is 0.6 in 100,000, while the mother’s risk of dying while giving birth is around 8.8 in 100,000. Studies done by the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and researches at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have all concluded that the link between receiving an abortion and mental health problems are unfounded. Statistics have also shown that where legal abortion services are unavailable, women’s lives are at threat as they continue seek these procedures in medically unsafe conditions. The best way to keep these women safe and healthy is to give them access to safe and affordable abortion procedures.
Ms. Walker then touches on adoption and promotes it as an alternative to abortion. I agree with Ms. Walker here. Many families in America struggle to have children of their own and turn to adoption. What Ms. Walker fails to talk about is how broken and complicated the adoption process is, how detrimental it can be to a child’s quality of life, and how difficult and expensive it is for families to adopt.
Throughout her article Ms. Walker makes unjustified and irrelevant attacks towards members of the scientific community, misrepresents the widely accepted definition of common words, and makes inaccurate generalizations on several topics. Ms. Walker, next time you write an article about such a controversial topic, I implore you to find more unbiased sources for your research. The Elliot Institute and Eternal Perspective Ministries have a clear agenda and can not be trusted to deliver an impartial truth.
Being pro choice does not mean that I am pro abortion. I believe that every woman should have the inalienable right to make the choice that is best for her. It is not my place to stand in front of a stranger and tell her that she can’t do as she pleases with her body, just because it doesn’t align with my morals. I ask you, the person who chose to read this article, please respect a woman’s right to choose.
