Most people who talk about abortion these days are talking past each other. Most actually believe abortion is morally wrong much if not all of the time, but they completely disagree on whether abortion should be legal.
This is not meant to be another "10 theses on..." type of discussion, but here are my thoughts in no particular order.
1. Pro-life,
pro-choice, pro-abortion, and anti-choice are unhelpful labels. No one agrees on what they mean. One can be pro-life and believe abortion
should remain legal, while one can also be pro-choice and believe that abortion
is morally wrong.
2. As
of 2011, the CDC reports that the induced abortion ratio is at its lowest level
since 1973 (the CDC began receiving these numbers in 1970 - the link to the CDC
stats is available via Wikipedia).
Why is it that it’s so low compared to the highest year in 1985? The legal status of abortion has essentially
not changed at all. Pro-lifers should ask themselves "why", find out why, then support causes that have contributed to this decrease.
3.
It drives me crazy when feminist activists whine about
men offering their opinion on abortion because men will never bear
children. This discussion affects men as well as women, though of course
in different ways. Even gay men have a right to offer their
opinion. I have lots of friends who want to adopt, and there are many
babies who are aborted who would live wonderful lives being raised by gay
parents.
4.
When folks of a more conservative bent rant and rave
that the United States should defund Planned Parenthood because of their
abortion practices, I literally roll my eyes.
It is illegal for the federal government to financially support
abortion. It doesn’t do it. It funds other activities of Planned
Parenthood which include sex education, reproductive health, maternal and child
health services, cancer screening, and HIV screening and counseling. It does not fund Planned Parenthood’s
abortion activities. Defunding Planned Parenthood will likely lead to more abortions. “Pro-Life” activists should stop being so
hypocritical.
5.
When folks of a more liberal bent rant and rave when
church leaders speak out about the moral implications, I literally roll my
eyes. Church leaders (whether male or
female) are supposed to be talking about such things, and we have religious
freedom in this country. Agree or
disagree with a specific church’s position on abortion, but don’t whine about
white men preaching about things that don’t affect them directly. Religious leaders talk about morality. Deal with it.
6.
The Episcopal Church’s two primary official statements on
abortion are as follows:
a. "Resolved, That this 71st General Convention (1994) of the Episcopal Church express its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or nation governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision."-71st General Convention 1994.
b.
"All human life is sacred from its inception until death. The Church takes seriously its obligation to help form the consciences of its members concerning this sacredness....We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community. While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience."-69th General Convention 1998
d.
If anyone thinks the church is endorsing abortion as a good
thing, they should be gently coaxed into reading these statements again, and
again, until they understand them. The
Episcopal Church is pro-life (which again, doesn’t equate to believing abortion
should be illegal).
7.
Making abortion illegal would not reduce the number of
abortions. Abortions would continue in back alleys and behind closed
doors, and the women who get them would not receive proper medical attention.
8.
There have to be legal guardrails around something like
abortion. It’s obvious to state that a
child born at full term is alive, but it’s less obvious to state that a zygote
is alive one second after the sperm fertilizes the ovum. I believe abortion should generally be illegal after
the child can meaningfully survive outside of the womb (I think). Scientists and doctors are better equipped to
determine when that is than I am.
9.
The federal government and religious non-profit groups
alike should be pouring money into social services that in fact result in a
reduced number of abortions (including many of the services provided by Planned
Parenthood). This is pro-life. Such services include but are not limited to
adoption education for pregnant mothers, contraception, sex education. Also, the government should subsidize
adoption at a greater level than it does currently. It should be essentially free to adopt a
child.
10. There
are plenty of areas where those on both sides of the legality debate can and
should cooperate to ultimately reduce the number of abortions. See #9.
Now that I've settled this issue once and for all, I'll move on to deciding between controversial low carb cheesecake recipes.
