US99 - Better Solutions for Curbing Abortions
| Treat girls, boys equally at home, school, society; contraceptives and better choices reduce abortions, not laws | |
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Description
I believe women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy do not really want to get abortions. Unfortunately, many of them who are not victims of rape or incest or with a serious medical conditions feel compelled to do so because of poverty, abusive conditions in their families or relationships, fear of losing college scholarships, and other important considerations. These women don't need to hear "You should have ..." They need food, shelter, healthcare. They don't need to see horrifying photos of aborted fetuses; they need help to go to school, train for and find a decent job, and obtain dependable childcare. But even before that, girls and young women need to be treated equally ALL of their lives. If they want to play baseball, for instance, no parent, coach, athletic director, or league official should keep them away. If they want to be scientists, they don't need to hear that women don't do those things. Also, preventive birth control (which IS effective when used properly) should be available at no cost or very little cost to any young woman or man who wishes to use it. In addition, rape and incest need to be treated as major crimes and women treated (by default) as dependable witnesses no matter what the circumstances. Part of the perpetrators' punishment should be paying toward the care of the women they violated and any children (without knowing where they are). Finally, women need totally equal treatment in the workplace: pay, benefits, and opportunities.
Arguments
Girls and young women need to be treated equally ALL of their lives: equal opportunities in school and sport, in jobs and pay, in self-expression and commitment to ideals that help themselves and others. Abortion is a tragic result, a symptom, of the condemnation of girls and young women to "lives of quiet desparation," as they struggle against the male-oriented oversexualization of their bodies (even at an early age) and the constant societal putdown of their mental, emotional, psychological, and political abilities. Abortion will NOT go away by law, court or executive order, or amendment; it will go away when women choose not to get an abortion. We can start that process by providing free contraception, funding quality education, enforcing sexual crimes, and removing obstacles.
Counterarguments
When someone pulls the trigger on a gun and kills someone, they do not get a "do over". When couples have sex and pregnancy comes about as a result, abortion is their "do over". Why should an innocent have to die for this sort of behavior? Contraception? What about abstinence? There is the argument for rape and for incest, however, how many abortions take place because of rape and incest? I was dating a girl when her 14 year old sister became pregnant by her boyfriend. Her parents took her to the doctor in her 5th month to get the baby aborted..... Why you may ask? Because she was a cheerleader, because she was too young, because the kid that got her pregnant was 13 and not fit to be a dad, because it was inconvenient, and the list goes on forever. When in college, I knew a senior boy that was dating a freshman girl. After he graduated, they kept on dating. Late one night when I was a senior she called me to tell me that she was pregnant with twins by another guy. She wanted to know what she should do. I told her that she needed to marry the father of her babies, and tell her old boyfriend what she had done. She elected not to do that. She aborted the babies, continued in the relationship with her old boyfriend, and eventually married him. I still wonder if she has ever told him about the incident... I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY BODY" referring to the Pro-Choice Movement. Really? Your body? Who created you? Who made you male or female? Your temple with its intricate design was created by a Maker who would beg to differ that your body is anything but His. Start treating your temple like it was designed to be used, and use it as a blessing to the Maker.
An overwhelming majority of women who get abortions are not victims of rape, incest, have medical conditions that threaten their life. They were not criminalized for their sexual behavior, no one forced them to have sex: They chose to. They made their own decision, a bad one.
Abortion is wrong, killing another simply because they are an inconvenience is wrong. The couple didn't think of pregnancy when they had sex, or thought they could beat it. Them being wrong is not a reason to justify killing a child.
1 Topic
Discussion
Related Ideas
| Reduce abortions through increased access to information and contraceptives More detail | |
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| Free condom vending machines in all public high schools More detail | |
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last reply by Lairderg on May 28
Reduce abortions through access to contraceptives? (1 reply)