Jan 26 2009
For Your Information
Becoming a parent has drastically changed the way I view many things. One of those things concerns the abortion debate. I don’t really know where I stand with this - I’m not Pro-Abortion and I’m not really Pro-Choice, but I’m also not completely Pro-Life (I guess). Here’s where I stand, abortion has been around for hundreds of years and I don’t feel that it can be made illegal because that would just lead to women participating in very dangerous ways to end a pregnancy. I do feel that there needs to be more restrictions and regulations involved when it comes to abortion. I also feel that there are times when abortion is a right and a choice that the parents will need to make. This would involve a rape, sexual assault, incest, molestation, etc., as well as, the possibility of death by the mother if the pregnancy continues. Abortion should never be used as a form of birth control. Partial birth abortions and late-term abortions need to be made illegal.
There is a piece of legislation called the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) which, after researching, has caused me some concern. This Act would reverse practically all restrictions and regulations on abortion in all jurisdictions. It would overturn the following: State abortion reporting requirements; state laws concerning parental involvement; state laws on restricting later-term abortions and partial-birth abortions; state conscience protection laws for individual health care providers; state conscience protection laws for institutions; state laws on requiring counseling before an abortion; and state laws concerning ultrasounds before an abortion.
Now, being a parent, has definitely made me more sensitive to this topic. I can remember what it felt like to carry my boys inside of me and how careful I was to make sure I was doing everything “right”. When I think about my babies and then think of possibly killing them through abortion - it just makes no sense, I cannot understand it. Then, to think about all the restrictions which would be lifted through FOCA, again it concerned me. Why would we want to take away parental involvement for a procedure which could have huge emotional and physical effects on an individual? Why would we reverse restrictions on late-term and partial-birth abortions when research has found that a baby’s heart begins to beat at 18 days after conception, when brain waves have been recorded at 42 days, and at 11 weeks the baby has spontaneous breathing movements and all of it’s body systems are functioning, at 18 weeks the baby’s vocal cords work and it can cry. Why should partial-birth abortions and late-term abortions be legal when at 23 weeks there is a 15% chance of viability outside the womb, at 24 weeks that increases to 56%, and at 25 weeks the chance of viability outside the womb is 79%. If a baby has the potential to live on it’s own outside of the mother’s womb and it is killed through abortion, then isn’t that murder? You are killing something that could survive without the nourishment from it’s mother. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Also, the federal government’s proposal to lift the state laws on counseling and ultrasounds before completing an abortion, seems both physically and emotionally dangerous. I would think that such a life altering and potentially harmful decision should require extensive counseling and providing mandatory ultrasounds could drastically change a woman’s mind about even continuing with the procedure. Seeing the baby growing inside of her and hearing the heart beating so fast may affect the woman so greatly that she would decide to continue the pregnancy. She may not decide to raise the baby herself, but she could decide to give it up for adoption and bring so much joy to a family who so desperately wants to have a baby.
As the saying goes, “a baby changes everything”. It really does, from the minute you find out you are pregnant your whole world is turned upside down. Suddenly priorities and lives change and if you’re not sure that being a parent is in the cards for you, then that can be a very difficult thing to go through. Despite everything, though, abortion just may not be the answer. There are other ways to handle this difficult situation, maybe there should be more federal backing of adoption and assistance to those parents looking to adopt in the United States. Just a thought.
I completely agree. I guess since I was in a hurry when I was writing and just venting and didn’t expect anyone to actually read what I wrote, I didn’t put much editing into it. I should have stated that I disagree with abortion as a means of birth control. I completely agree that in certain situations, like the ones you mentioned, that it is more appropriate.
(sorry if this is showing up multiple times, I think I keep getting the word verification thing wrong.)