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Abortion | |
June 26th, 2022 | |
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This is a post about my thoughts on abortion. It is personal and | |
not intended to persuade. I'm writing it because I am, on | |
occasion, asked about my opinion, and thought it helpful to write | |
them down. | |
Let this brief introduction serve as a content warning. | |
* * * * * | |
Let's start with the easy bits: | |
There are times when an abortion is absolutely, unequivocally, and | |
unambiguously the moral choice. For instance, if the fetus is | |
non-viable or if the birth with result in the death of the fetus | |
and parent. There is no grey area here. By performing a medical | |
procedure we can help save life and reduce suffering. | |
With that very basic example I thereby demonstrate that there is | |
no right and ethical argument against abortion in all situations. | |
The act itself cannot be considered evil for it can in some | |
situations be used for good. We must look further at the situation | |
and recognize that there's more to this than a black & white | |
narrative. (Duh.) | |
What situations affect the ethical choice for or against birth? | |
There's a huge range of circumstances from family planning issues, | |
to health, safety, abuse, and money. This is where I feel the | |
opportunity is best to save lives and reduce suffering. | |
Lets take just a few examples here: | |
The teenagers who accidentally conceive -- currently face | |
incredibly difficult life decisions while their own bodies and | |
brains are still developing. The realities of modern America mean | |
the potential for difficulties with families, poverty, lack of | |
support for continued education, and lack of tooling and services | |
for the child. | |
These things are addressable by our society. A world that embraces | |
and supports these young people, provides the safety nets, | |
childcare services, and opportunities to continue to improve | |
themselves and the futures of their children would create an | |
environment where the accidental pregnancy wouldn't come with such | |
a sense of shock and fear. That would lead to less people seeing | |
abortion as their only path. | |
A family that's struggling to support the kids they have may see | |
similar benefits if only social services are improved. The | |
unexpected extra child is now not a fearful burden, but an | |
opportunity. | |
But there are other situations that we must face as a reality. | |
Rape, incest, abusive relationships. Legislating against abortions | |
further punishes the victims of these crimes and causes great | |
suffering. It is undeniable. Forced birthing is quite literally | |
a war crime and crime against humanity, as defined in the 1998 | |
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC Statute). It | |
is unconscionable to force women into this situation for the sake | |
of a child's life: a child which after birth is given no further | |
thought. It is a false display of moralism made at the cost of | |
another. | |
And finally, there are people who become pregnant who just don't | |
want to be. There is no quandary for them. There is no situation | |
change which would put them in a position to want to have a child. | |
Here is the hardest of all situations for a third party to wrap | |
their head around. The life of a child vs what appears to be | |
nothing. But it's never nothing, is it? We are all complex | |
creatures with a lifetime of thoughts and feelings that led to who | |
we are today. These experiences are intricate, complicated, and | |
carry a vast depth to them. These depths are plumbed in therapy by | |
millions daily, and though issues may seem mundane to those in | |
passing they are whirlwinds of vital importance that make or break | |
people. Our glimpse at someone's situation is not even seeing the | |
iceberg above the surface, let alone below. We don't even sense | |
the chill in the air. We cannot understand from our vantage, and | |
thus, as hard as it may be, we cannot decide for that person. | |
I want there to be fewer abortions. I want a world that makes it | |
safe for children to come into being and be cared for no matter | |
what the situation of the parents. I want mental health services | |
to be available to everyone who needs to talk because maybe, just | |
maybe, some more people will say yes to the child. | |
I am pro-life. I am against abortion. And yet, I believe it is | |
absolutely wrong to legislate forced-births. We make abortion | |
diminish through compassion in our society, not through fascism. |