I was thirteen when Roe v. Wade passed. I remember debates at school where the majority were pro-choice. The few children who tried to stick up for the baby were laughed and hooted into silence. Our teachers indoctrinated us that the world was over populated, people were causing pollution and the earth needed saving from more babies. As any teenager, I swayed with the popular crowd which was pro-abortion. Babies were a waste of time, space, resources, and to be avoided like the plague. Several girls in our school, maybe many, had abortions. The high school counselor handed out referrals to the abortion clinic like hall passes. Back then, the propaganda that the fetus was a mass of cells was believed widely. There was no internet to look things up, and most people believed what doctors told them.
Forty years later, we are here. 55 million babies have been prevented from birth. Immigration, legal and illegal, quietly took up the slack of the missing population. Was it worth it? Is our country (USA) better off because we legalized abortion? What about the millions of post-abortive parents? Would-be mothers or fathers who are missing their children? One out of every three women of child-bearing age has had an abortion. Look to your right, look to your left, or look in the mirror. A same percentage of men have also been fathers of aborted babies. Think about the society we live in where millions have been impacted by abortion. 55 million babies == 55 million men and 55 million women. [And this is just in America, who knows how many worldwide?]
I look at my own viewpoints. I was apathetic with a libertarian attitude. As long as they're not hurting me, why bother? Abortion wasn't personalized to me until I looked into the face of my 26 week gestational premature baby. He was born 2 pounds, his head was the size of an orange and his feet smaller than my thumb. He lived three weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. After he passed away, friends and relatives grieved with me, bringing casseroles, consolation and comfort. While crying with a friend who had had an abortion, I realized that she grieved the same as I for her unborn baby. And the truth hit me. The only reason my son received high tech medical care was because he was wanted. From that moment on, I became pro-life. A human being's worth should not be based on whether other people want him or not.
Every woman has a choice...
Maryanne Torres tries to gain validation and love by giving more in each relationship than she takes. Her boyfriend, Lucas Knight believes his reason for existence lies in becoming a triathlon champion. An unwanted pregnancy forces Maryanne to examine her past while Lucas is torn between concern and bitterness.
A tiny life hangs on the balance. Is it worthless because it is unwanted?
Read HIDDEN UNDER HER HEART online or buy it at Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Kobo, or Smashwords. It is on sale at Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble Jan 21-23 for 99c.
Where were you when Roe V. Wade passed (Jan 22, 1973)? How has your viewpoint changed through the years? Please share your story in the comments.
I was born in 74, but I've been following the discussion for the past years. Pro choice doesn't mean pro abortion, or ridiculing anyone, for that matter. It means that a woman's bodily integrity is respected and her consent required--from engaging in sexual activity to pregnancy. Either way. I have trouble with the idea of taking that decision out of the hands of women and their doctors, because it means a type of control that doesn't just cover the subject of abortion. If we must have laws to regulate women's lives, does that mean they can't be trusted? Does that mean they'd make wrong and questionable choices by default? I don't think so. Criminalizing and shaming them will not make a better society in my opinion. We have ways, though, to create circumstances in which the number of abortions can be lowered: By sensible sex education, access to contraception, equal pay, and by fighting violence against women. It's all in the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better. A woman should have the right to control her own body and to make her own decisions about childbearing, even if others think they're wrong. That said, I think there would be far fewer abortions if women were not squeezed by economic need and social circumstances. As you say, it's part of the larger picture.
DeleteMany good points! I work with an organization that supports women and families and it's absolutely true that we need to look at the big picture and help women who feel like they have no choice except to abort. Education, access to care, equal pay--all issues that get ignored in the heat of debate. That said, I totally disagree that we are talking about reproductive rights. Focusing on choice or the medical independence of women is a smokescreen. The true issue is this: When does life begin? If you can say without a doubt that it is not at conception, then you can support abortion wholeheartedly. But if you're not sure, are you willing to gamble the life of one human against the rights of another? The job of government is to protect the lives of its citizens and their rights... are rights more important than lives? I'm not promoting a world where the government decides everything for us. But the government has a responsibility to protect those who can't protect themselves. If there's a chance that it's an independent person whose life is ended through an abortion, whether at 6 weeks or 16 weeks, then we need to take a conservative stance and offer more protection to that individual, not less.
DeleteI'm excited to find out about a book that explores this issue in depth. Rachelle, thanks for putting this out there. I look forward to reading it.
This is one of those highly controversial subjects. Before abortion was legal, some women would take a lot of risks to have one anyone and no doubt they would resort to that again. Personally, I would never have one and I can relate to what you're saying because I lost a baby once too. It's sad that anyone would not want their baby or at least not want to at least give it up for adoption.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with Barbara Winkes--being pro-choice does not preclude being pro-life. When abortion was illegal just meant that women without means couldn't get a legal, safe abortion. I think it's important to also support Planned Parenthood because they console on use of contraceptives to help prevent unwanted pregnancies in addition to cancer screening and other necessary services.
ReplyDeleteI, like you, was pro-choice for many years...then one day my newly pregnant friend, who was only six weeks along, told me how she went to the doctor and got to hear her baby's heartbeat. I was floored. I had no idea there was a heartbeat that early...many abortions are performed at or later than the six week mark, which in my eyes meant that it wasn't just getting rid of "cells" and "tissue"...no, it was getting rid of a living being. Everyone likes to talk about a "woman's right to choose"...but what about the baby's right to live? Thanks for this insightful post :)
ReplyDeleteThere are two bodies involved--the woman's body and the baby's body. The cost for one is nine months, for the other, an entire lifetime.
DeleteGreat post. Love little Ross. I've never been anything other than for Life. But I'm nobody's judge. People have to live with their choices, and some will learn while others will continue to use abortion as a means of birth control.
ReplyDeleteSad that we live in a Godless world. :(
Every woman has a choice.
ReplyDeleteEvery woman must live with her choice.
Maybe there are three involved, the child, the mother and the creator. Above all, I know the creator knows and cares, and heals, and forgives.
ReplyDeleteEach woman has to make her own decision on this - and should be able to. I'm thankful I didn't have to make the decision myself.
ReplyDelete