The subject of abortion is a complicated and hot topic because, like most issues, there is no cut-n-dried answer. It is a topic that is both religious and political, can be deeply personal and their are many ways to look at it.
As stated in my previous post I believe life is precious - born or unborn. Part of the difficulty in discussing this topic is the question of when life begins. Personally, I believe that life begins at conception. In my opinion, after that point we are dealing with a human life.
I believe that birth control is something that needs to be considered before, not after. But what about the "exceptions"? Is it ok to take the life of the unborn child in order to save the mother? What about rape victims, teen pregnancy, incest and the other complicated issues? Well they are all very good questions and ones I don't have an easy answer for. It might be easy for someone who is not dealing with one of those situations to give a firm answer, but in the lives of the people actually affected it is never quite so easy.
My biggest issue is with the phrase "a women's right to choose". In my opinion, this is completely ignoring 2 other lives involved - that of the father and that of the unborn child. The child cannot speak for its self, but the father can and should be able to. Many women take this life without ever even telling the father. It's quite possible the father could raise the child and would be traumatized to learn that he didn't even have the option. Of course I realize the huge commitment it takes to carry a child to birth - but a decision like this should not be made without considering all the many alternatives. Too often abortion is considered a first resort rather than a last resort.
The other big issue is the political side. In the last presidential debates, John Kerry was asked a very difficult question about abortion and I think he did an excellent job of answering it. I will close this topic with his response.
Q: Some Catholic archbishops said that it would be a sin to vote for a candidate like you because you support a woman's right to choose an abortion and unlimited stem-cell research. What is your reaction to that?
A: I completely respect their views. I am a Catholic. And I grew up learning how to respect those views. But I disagree with them, as do many. I can't legislate or transfer to another American citizen my article of faith. What is an article of faith for me is not something that I can legislate on somebody who doesn't share that article of faith. I believe that choice is a woman's choice. It's between a woman, God and her doctor. That's why I support that. I will not allow somebody to come in and change Roe v. Wade.
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2 comments:
Hi! I liked you "Life Support" post. It is perhaps that most thoughtful people will make and I've heard many people around where I live make that same argument. However, I take issue with your saying that 2 people get left out when it becomes only "the woman's right to choose." For a variety reason a woman may choose to get an abortion: financial, responsibility issues, rape, insest, etc. We must not ignore that it is the woman and her body where the fetus is residing. Therefore, she is the one who gets to decide, I believe.
But I think there comes a larger question: How far are we as Americans going to allow the government invade out personal lives? To what extent are we going to allow elected officals, largely males, decide the most sensitive, personal, issues a family, or person could go through, i.e., the right to die, whom to marry, if one can have an abortion, or a myriad of other issues? Some might be so crass as to suggest that if we allow these issues to stay legal then we'll be close to allowing other act such as marrying an animal or other unimaginable, rediculous things.
I believe we must not let government control our PERSONAL lives, but rather those very sensitive issues ought to be left to the family and their ability to govern themselves. Imposing our personal beliefs on the rest is not democracy, but rather theocracy, and on par with the religious fanatics in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the terrorist Taliban in Afghanistan. I fear the emergence of the "American Taliban" if the religious leaders are allowed to impose their interpretation of the Bible on the rest of us.
Well said Ben. :)
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