Abortion

My views on abortion have evolved over time. My religion was the first major influence with my peers taking over. As I reviewed medical journals, visited Body Worlds exhibition, studied history, experienced social views, and thought more about the fight between pro-life and those supporting abortion, I developed a viewpoint that reflected all of what I have learned. A difficult question developed for me. At what point do I have the right to tell someone they can or cannot have an abortion? New York and Virginia have made me rethink my views on abortion.

New York and Virginia have enacted new laws concerning abortion in 2019. The biggest play on these two issues is political as seen by this biased but informative opinion piece, Fake News About Abortion in Virginia, that states in the end, “There’s certainly no reason to trust the people who elected Trump to make profound ethical decisions for us.” I would like to take the insulting and very biased Michelle Goldberg to task about her journalism, but that would be another topic.

In New York abortions can be performed at the end of the 24th week of pregnancy. This is about the 6th month of pregnancy. Another factor to the law is the health of the woman and fetus viability. The viability issue is also a new part of the law. Virginia law allows abortion during the third trimester when doctors certify that continuing the pregnancy would result in the woman’s death or impair the woman in some way.

What does abortion really mean? To wealthier white women, it is an expression of their power and freedom as well as a selfish act. For the poor and minorities, it is a way to remain economically viable. The argument about abortion isn’t new and has never been solely connected to one socio-economic group. In her book, Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic, author Elaine G. Breslaw notes the frequency or continuation of abortions by women throughout American history, though she does note that American Indians did not perform abortions. In fact, she gives credence to the idea of men getting into the abortion business as they battled against midwives for work, “In the second of the nineteenth century physicians tried a new tack, which focused on the abortion trade, another traditional source of income in the medical world.” It was a focus point for the practice of medicine where the physicians pushed for licensing regulations.

Abortions in early America were done to cover up “fornication or adultery.” Abortion was only criminal if it was covering up illegal activities, and even then people had a very casual attitude about it. One key fact about abortion during this period was that it was seen to be safer than actually delivering a baby, something we no longer experience in America. Still, abortion remained the most successful method of birth control as other forms of birth control were not the most effective. Abortion was a women’s method of family planning.

During the 19th century, the war concerning abortion was not about ethical or moral issues. It was still a power grab between physicians and those performing abortions that were not medically trained. Anti-abortion laws were created to protect women from the quackery that was performing the abortions. The laws created to protect women gained strength and carried on until Roe v Wade.

Where was there ever a moral thought about the unborn human and their rights? For women, this was unlikely to happen and for men, abortions provided a type of independence from the responsibility of fathering a child. Abortion was a selfish act typically by women but forced upon by their circumstances in most instances.

As we look at the idea of abortion today, Christianity remains steadfast against abortion, especially the Catholic Church where they believe life begins at conception. For most “liberated” women, it is an escape from responsibility. Is this really true?

Yes. History has shown the willingness of women to engage in abortion throughout American history for selfish reasons and this continues today. When we look at the fetus, it is more of a parasite than “part of a woman.” The fetus is a separate entity feeding off of a woman and is in no part her. We know this biologically as mother and fetus/child can have different blood types which are sometimes incompatible. The placenta, which develops during pregnancy, is the gateway from which a fetus uses the woman. It “attaches” to the wall of the woman’s uterus. The placenta is only there for the duration of the pregnancy. A fetus is inside a woman’s body but is definitely not the woman’s body. We could argue the semantics of whether the fetus, being inside the woman, should be considered part of a woman.

Men are not excusable in this argument even though many women state is so. Afterall, it takes an egg and a sperm to create life that is the embryo. This requires a man and for that reason, a man has a right to be heard in this argument. He does impregnate the woman, thus he is partly responsible for the fetus. The only difference is that biology decided the human man to not be the carrier of the fetus. He, also, reacts in selfish ways just as much as women do but from a periphery position concerning pregnancy.

What about the unborn human? This is an individual with human DNA that was introduced to humanity. Whether we want to pretend or not, the fetus is definitely human even though the fetus cannot live on its own or is underdeveloped. Yet, this human has no human rights other than those fighting the fetus’s right to life. In fact, women are more lenient towards rapists and murderers than the unborn human. They will march for the improper treatment of such monstrous individuals but will not care about an innocent being’s torturous death from abortion instruments. How can this be?

Selfishness. What other reason is there? A pregnancy means the end of the individual freedom a woman has in society. A man doesn’t have to gestate a child or raise a child should he choose not to while the woman is burdened with this. Abortion also allows women to have relative freedom for promiscuity as abortion removes the chains of motherhood. Is selfishness just a way to have more sex in a freer manner? Selfish is more than that. To some, it evening the field in the social and gender battle with men as if there is a competition. There are plenty of reasons for selfishness for why women engage in abortion. Men also are selfish in their desire for abortions of which some of the same reasons apply.

Again, the unborn human is never considered as it always goes back to the woman and in lesser instances the man, too. We hear too often of the depressive regrets for aborting but often blame it on society when we know too well it is not society placing this regret on the woman. Murder is very hard on a human whether it is justified or not. Inside, we know that abortion is the murder of a human. We try to de-humanize the fetus like those we wish to hate. This initially relieves us of the guilt, but it always comes back. We see this with soldiers, people killing in self-defense, those accidentally kill others through their own negligence, and even those committing murders in an act of crime.

Is it wrong to support abortion? If you believe that all people have the right to life or human rights then you do not support abortion. If you are against forms of capital punishment then surely you should be against abortion as one of these people has committed crimes against humanity while the other is innocent of everything. This has nothing to do with women’s health as I showed earlier that a fetus is not part of a woman. Health has always been a weak argument and one that displays the selfishness of a woman. What valid reason is there for supporting abortion? Even those rare cases where a woman’s health is in jeopardy or the fetus may not be viable after birth are not enough to justify abortion.

I can continue with true incidents of where abortion was considered but never done and the child was wonderful. There are plenty of these examples, and I have my own as this was an option a doctor mentioned to my wife concerning one of my sons and a test that was done during her pregnancy. I could post fetus images to show you they look like us, but if the DNA element doesn’t convince you, then images of the fetus alive or newly aborted aren’t going to work. I cannot convince you to be against abortion if your reasons for supporting are selfish ones. To me, it is less of a religious issue and one of human rights and murder. I cannot justify murdering the innocent, especially when they have no voice.

A small victory for humanity

Abortion restrictions pass in Texas. This is a victory but a small one for humanity. I consider Wendy Davis and supporters of her cause to be fundamentally wrong about their views in this case. It is a view based on selfishness and not one for humanity. This has nothing to do with the great lie of women’s health.

I grew up in a family that was strongly pro-life. I went along with this as a kid for I didn’t know much about this battle and nor did I care. What did it matter to me at that time. I had no vested interest in this. We wore the pro-life rose, but there was no meaning in it for me. These were my young year and early teen years. There was no need to be interested in this argument. Sure, I’d seen some of abortion and fetus the images, but they were alien to me. There was no meaning.

As I entered my late teen years, I began dating. Initially, this argument had no meaning. Everything was the same except my friends were now voicing opinions. Most were in favor of abortion. At the time, I didn’t pay attention to who was for and who was not. Later I would look at this and notice the people in favor of abortion were sexually active. Those not in favor would change their minds when they became sexually active or had a good friend that was sexually active. Those against abortion were not dating and or were religious.

In my college year, I began to side with pro-abortion. I was looking at it from a selfish perspective. If my significant other and I became sexually active with each other, there was a chance of pregnancy. This would ruin our lives. We were college students and not ready to work in the world. In fact we would not survive as a couple if there was a pregnancy. We were too immature and unready for responsibility no matte how much we professed it. We looked at the stigma within our respective families. How could I face my family or my significant other? Inside I knew it was wrong, but I was only thinking of myself. Yes, a little bit of pleasure was worth the expulsion of a nuisance.

My college friends were of the same opinion. The women’s right was rampant since it was the woman’s body we were discussing. Who cares about the separate entity inside. Even though I held this new opinion, I wasn’t entirely sold on it. I was told the fetus was not human even though the DNA said otherwise. Apparently, if it does not look human then it is not human. I guess you can say Joseph Merrick was human or any other deformed human with that logic. There was a lot of information going around about how a fetus wasn’t human and was part of a woman. None of this logic sat well with me, but I went along with it. Afterall, what business is it of mine to be involved in other people’s lives. I guess if I see a crime, I should look the other way.

When I met the Educator and we married, my thoughts about abortion really didn’t change. What did change was my concerns about it. No longer did I worry about having an unexpected baby. If we had a child before we were ready, we could take care of the situation. We both worked and were mature enough to deal with a child. The Educator and I were prepared for a child in every way even though we were not planning on having a child. The abortion argument faded away, and I no longer cared. A baby was NOT going to ruin my life, now.

Fast forward to the second pregnancy where the abortion argument appeared once more. A simple test was done that came back positive. My second child stood a good chance of being mentally retarded. The Educator looked into my eyes and asked if I wanted to have an abortion. My response was very quick. It was a resounding, NO. The Educator was testing me. Had I said yes, there would have been a fight between us. For me, I could not sign the death warrant of an innocent, unprotected HUMAN. My viewpoint on abortion was slightly changed. I did not agree with abortion in my family but still had a no interference viewpoint towards others. This viewpoint was eroding.

I had the opportunity to visit Body Works. It may be called Body Worlds. Once again, I saw fetuses. This and the partial birth abortion technique had me thinking about a lot of things. I started to research everything I could about the fetus and embryos as well as abortion. In a very short time, I understood what I failed to see as a youth.

Abortion is about narcissism and selfishness. There is nothing more to what is behind abortion. Anyone supporting abortion is hiding selfishness or they are ignorant of the truth about abortion, thus believing in the women’s health lie. I was there! I know that I was selfish for a time and ignorant about abortion. It has never been about women’s health, rights or anything else about women. That is the big lie. It is about selfishness for a few minutes of lustful pleasure. Why else would you support abortion? There is only one way to naturally have children, and this requires sexual intercourse. Yes, pregnancy is a bi-product of this act.

Look around with open eyes. As I look back on those supporting abortion, they had something to “lose” if there was no abortion. I have married friends that support abortion. Why? One couple does not want children. They run a risk of an unwanted pregnancy. I know of couples that swing, and they support abortion. Yes, there are couples with families that support abortion. When they were single like me, they too had the same feelings and thoughts. They have not had to truly think about it since. It is easier to just go along. These people admit they don’t care. You don’t care if you have no interest in the subject. Do you care what is happening in some small village in Southeast Asia? Unless you have family or money tied up there, the answer is no.

The fact is the fetus and even the embryo is a human being. This person has human DNA and civil rights that the ACLU has no problems not defending. Like any newborn infant, a fetus requires nurturing. For a test, take a newborn infant and leave it to fend for itself in the wild. Just because the fetus isn’t six foot, speaking and a few other minor details does not mean the fetus is not human. Wasn’t Joseph Merrick human or Chris Burke,too? What about people born without appendages or cojoined twins? These people do not look human, but they are. They have human DNA.

We humans like to be rid of anything that will inconvenience us. It is easier to kill a human that has no civil rights or a defender. This is nothing more than murder at its worst. Should Andrea Yates or other such parents be convicted of murder if we allow abortion. These people only committed post-birth abortion. We have pre-birth abortion and partial birth abortion. Why not post-birth abortion? What is the difference?

I look at my children and thank God I never murdered them. Can supporters of abortion truly look in the mirror and believe their hands are free of the blood of innocents?

Can Someone Tell Me What ‘Women’s Health’ Is?

Tonight I listened to a politician desperately trying to get elected or re-elected.  He was attempting to get the female vote by discussing ‘women’s health’ only that is related to abortion.  He was pro-abortion and was saying that allowing women the right to an abortion was women’s health.  He isn’t the only one to say this.  There are hundreds if not thousands of politicians that believe that.  There are plenty of women that have complained to me that one party doesn’t care about women’s health.  How can we not be for the health of a woman?

I have always thought women’s health dealt with the medical condition of women.  There has always been a gender gap when it comes to the health of men and women.  I am talking about the medical care.  When I read about a woman’s healthcare in the U.S., it is always worse than a man’s.  I have read that women have higher costs than men when it comes to healthcare, and they have less coverage than men.  I have read how women are treated differently than men for heart ailments, lung issues and other similar health issues between the two.  Women have more difficulty than men in accessing care thus resulting in poorer quality of life.

Reading about the inequality in the quality of care for women makes me a big proponent of women’s health.  I am related to and know many women.  These women are important to me, and their loss would be not only devastating to me but to others around them.  No where have I read that abortion is vital to the health of a woman.  I have read and seen where it is detrimental to a human.  I don’t understand why these politicians are voted into office time and again when they do not care about the true health of a woman.  They are interested in the vote first, and if it allows the death of a human then so be it.

Do I not understand what ‘women’s health’ means?  If so, please be kind enough to provide me the definition.