Anyone who knows me, knows that I am vehemently anti-abortion. My views are not on religious grounds, but strictly on humanitarian grounds. I believe the chance that life exists anywhere else in the universe is slim to none. I believe it exists only on our planet, and it happened accidentally. When you really think about the odds against your mother or your father being conceived, and then your being conceived as a result, and in fact any human being conceived at all, it is phenomenal that we are sitting here today, in front of our computers. It is indeed a miracle.
All of the things we are ever going to be, are present at the moment of our conception ~~ blue eyes, brown eyes, tall, short ~~ whatever. The creature that sits in front of your computer today was created at the moment of conception. We are a combination of our father's and mother's DNA. "Oh, you have your mother's nose! Oh, you look like your father!" We cannot change it. To paraphrase Popeye, we are what we are. And so, I believe when we abort a human fetus, we are aborting a human being, not a blob of tissue, but a human being who has been given only one ~~ one ~~ chance at life.
Today as I was puttering around my tree house, I happened to catch a show with Anderson Cooper, about black market babies. Wait a minute ... did I hear that correctly? Babies being sold on the black market? How did that happen? Well, it turns out that so many babies are being aborted, there are none available for adoption to loving parents who want children. So, as a result of supply and demand, babies are actually being manufactured and sold on the black market. Let me get this straight. We legally kill babies and then we manufacture more and sell them. Does anyone else find that bizarre and creepy? And perhaps just a little bit immoral?
Now, please don't misunderstand me. I am not against birth control. This is the 21st Century, and there are about a kazillion ways to prevent a human being from actually being conceived. But once he or she has been conceived, well, that train has pretty much left the station, has it not? Except in dire circumstances, and perhaps with the help of adoption agencies, how inconconvenient would it be to carry the child to term, and then arrange to have it adopted by parents who are longing to have a child, and would love and cherish it?
Ever since Roe versus Wade, abortion of human fetuses has legally been used as a method of birth control. Why can't the human race rethink the whole process and call it conception control? And while we're at it, why can't we put more of the onus of conception control on the male, and not just the female? How about it gentlemen ... a birth control pill for men? After all, it does take two to tango. Or is this another one of these deals where the responsibility of it is left to the woman, including the pain ~~ physical and mental. And I don't want to think about what the fetus must feel. In Canada, a woman can get an abortion at five months, and in the U.K. it's six months. That's a full-fledged human being.Life is cheap, isn't it ~~ as long as it's someone else's.
31 comments:
I agree with you on a humanitarian basis, and immoral basis, it is wrong. The killing and then producing and selling of babies is an abomination to me. I am not on my religious high horse either since I'm not sure I've got one. BUT, there will never be another you, ever, in the universe. Your life should be celebrated just as everyone elses.
Love those Anne Geddes photos!
Those pictures are simply priceless, and they tell the story of what you are saying. I hear you, and I think it's the reason that there is so much controversy about abortion. Nobody thinks it's wonderful. But black market babies? This is a really insane world, isn't it?
I don't know that I agree with you on the abortion stance, but I certainly hear where you're coming from. And I had no idea that it was legal to abort so late. Black market babies? Horrendous. What always amazes me is that there are so many loving couples who long for children and cannot have them or afford the ridiculously expensive costs of adoption while women who don't care and do a piss poor job of being mothers can crank them out like a factory. It's disheartening.
I agree that it would be nice if men carried more of the burden of birth control, but I doubt we'll see that happening anytime soon.
I have never been able to formulate in my mind an adequate abortion policy. One for myself...yes, abortion is an abomination. But I am not sure that I am prepared to force feed that opinion to the rest of the world. I see all sides of the argument I suppose. I will say this, I believe in the core of my being that abortion is really a rotten birth control method and it speaks poorly of a society that must invoke it. In a technological society we should have absolutely 100% effective, and safe birth control methods for both sexes that are available to all people at the time they reach fertility. And the expectation is that these methods will be used first and foremost and the discussion of the morality of all this will be reserved for after the fact. These asinine purity programs, the teaching that condoms are not effective. and the stance of various religious organizations on birth control to me, 1) show a complete ignorance of human nature and biology 2) are immoral--no! not just uninformed--immoral! There is absolutely no reason why there should ever be a baby conceived on this planet that is not wanted at the moment of its conception. If we can send a man to the moon 40 years ago, by God, we ought to be able to control our fertility with out resorting to abortion.
We as a society send our teens two messages: 1) do not have sex, its bad 2) Only twits are virgins.
Well news flash folks: sex ain't bad. Sex is good and that is part of the reason the second message is so powerful. We are by nature designed to want to have sex, bodily, mentally, and spiritually. And guess when we want the most...yeah that's right when we are in our teens. Am I saying I am for promoting teen sex. No, but I am saying that as a society we are doing a piss poor job of teaching our children how to handle sex.
There is a lot of money to be made in teen sexuality and by God, our society works overtime to make it. Then we wring our hands over teen pregnancy. Now throw in some booze and drugs, foster a belief that drunken hook ups with not a chard of love between a couple is the emancipated thing for both women and men. Throw in easy access to porn to drive it all home and not only demonstrate how the natural stuff is done, but also how to do some really bizarre acts and to learn how to slap that bitch around like the ho she is. There are young men who do not date real women because they don't live up to the "beauty", performance, or degradation standards of porn. There are women who get "aesthetic" vaginal surgeries to make their vulvas more appealing like the porn stars! My God what have we become?
While I maintain some ambivalence regarding abortion, it is limited to first trimester. Anything beyond that should not be allowed except where the life of the mother is in jeopardy. I also think that women seeking abortions should be counseled on adoption, and perhaps even given a financial incentive to place the child in adoption. If these parents are willing to pay for a manufactured baby why not offer a similar incentive to women seeking abortions. Moral? Who hell knows but if it prevents an abortion, I think worth talking about.
I don't know the answer to our problems. I doubt that it is to make abortion illegal. But as a society we really need to shed all this holier than thou crap when our popular culture reeks of flamboyant sexuality, and the internet teaches our young people to abuse and disrespect each other and how to perform bizarre sexual acts for the purpose degrading their partners and themselves. Somewhere the messages that drunken hook ups are cool, condoms don't work, and occasionally you may get pregnant but that's OK because you can always get an abortion must change. The notion that sex is a sin and love is for losers must end as well. It is just insane, and it breaks my heart.
I thought it was hard growing up in the 60s, God, it must almost impossible today.
Those children are so beautiful! Well, all children, really.
With Sextant, I am of several minds about this matter.
I don't know about a pill for men. I take a fist full of pills every day, and I tend to be a touch uneasy about medications anyhow. But there is a very simple bit of surgery for men that is possible. And very effective, in limiting conceptions.
Thank-you Jo for this post.I have to say, if abortion had been legal and readily available ( as in FREE and government paid for )when I was conceived I would not be here. I am the result of an affair my mother had when my Dad, the man who raised me, was fighting for the U.S. Army overseas. My mother sought an abortion, but alas, they were illegal and very expensive.My husband, 3 grown and gainfully employed children, and their 8 children are probably happy I was not aborted too.
I am still stunned abortion , the right to kill unborn babies, is a cause celebre'. I am amazed anyone would publicly stand for the right to end the life of the un-born and actually garner praise. Maybe they have never been among those desiring a child, loving a child, being thankful for a child... and if they have, then shame on them for thinking only the children they deem precious are worthy of life.
I agree 100% with you Jojo. I don't understand how a woman can kill her unborn baby. We are the only species that seeks to destroy our unborn.
I had a 'disagreement' with my SIL about abortion. She said there were so many women who's lives were 'saved' because of the procedure. I asked her about the number of babies that were 'saved' when there mother's aborted them. As you can deduce, we agreed to disagree.
I am a firm believer that a baby is God's opinion that life it precious and should go on.
Thank you for your thought provoking post.
I needed to sign in, so here's a comment so I can see the follow up comments.
"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:22
As mankind progresses, we also seem to be getting worse. More selfish, more myopic and more destructive. I am a scientist but I do not place my hope that science can cure the basic flaws of the human condition. That is beyond science.
I do not believe that selective abortion is right. Like you say, we should strive to prevent unwanted conceptions but selective abortion after the fact is immoral and not part of any humanity that I want to be part of. The double tragedy of abortions and black market babies truly convict us of our foolishness in relation to how we treat the miracle of life.
You can get a kidney on the black market - it is no suprise you can get babies as well.
I am pro-choice 96%. Now, that does not mean that you should be reckless with your body or human life just to terminate pregnancy and after pregnancy to make your life easier. There are some extenuating circumstances I believe when abortion should be an option, however, I do not agree it should be an option at the 6 month mark.
A very thoughtful post Jo.
Here is an interesting related article, probably worthy of a Jo post.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/02/free-sperm-donors-and-the-women-who-want-them.html
I don't know. I like baby making the old fashioned way. You fall in love, you have a roll in the hay... a lot of rolls in the hay and somewhere in there you get married, and somewhere you have a baby. I am not too horribly concerned in the order of things other than falling in love should be first. Quite often the rolls in the hay are helpful in that process.
There are more than enough children available for adoption. But people want a certain age, gender, skin colour. If everybody who bought a baby or had one made to order would adopt an older child who might not look like them, this world would be a happier place.
I've started this comment 3 or 4 times and just can't seem to find the right words to say how I feel. Definitely we abort human beings, not a blob of tissue. Having worked in a funeral home and having seen babies who were lost pre-term I can tell you, they aren't just tissue.
I don't believe abortion should be legal and in a perfect world it probably wouldn't be as then people would use contraception. It's definitely a double-edged sword. Should we make abortion legal and medically safe or not make it legal and go back to the practice of those back street abortions of the past? Hard to say. I would just be easier if people practiced safe sex, but you can't even get people to practice safe driving!
JoJo, "BUT, there will never be another you, ever, in the universe." Yes…! That is precisely my point. None of us have the right to determine someone else' fate like that.
DJan, when I heard of black market babies, I couldn't believe my ears. Supply and demand...! In human beings...!
Whitney, there shouldn't be such a stigma for parents to give a child up for adoption if they are not able to keep it. I think giving it up for adoption is actually an act of love, isn't it?
Sextant, I believe that, once a human being is conceived, they are a human being, whether it's the first trimester, or the child is in the delivery room breathing air. It is a unique creature ~~ one of a kind. And my problem with abortion is that the majority of them are adult women who are often married, and just don't want more children. And I agree, making abortion illegal is not the answer. Making more options for the child is the answer. And yes, baby-making the old-fashioned way is probably the "best". Heh. But it is a serious business, nonetheless, when a human being is created.
Rob-bear, I guess the only problem with that surgery is that it is irreversible. There must be another less permanent way for men to participate in birth control. Perhaps folks need to find what it is.
Kathy, my goodness, your story is an excellent example of why a human being should not be terminated ~~ at any time. I'm so glad your mother was not able to get the abortion. You have contributed so much to the lives of so many people...!
Linda, "We are the only species that seeks to destroy our unborn." And we do it for purely selfish reasons ~~ the unborn child is inconvenient. I do understand the grief that mothers must feel when they have to do it, as well. I'm sure it is not easy for anyone.
Calvin, I could not agree with you more…! I do believe one day humanity will look back at this period of time and regard us as barbaric.
Kimberly, I often wonder why people call it pro-choice, rather than what it is ~~ pro-abortion. But I guess pro-choice seems to make it more politically correct. The only person who doesn't have any choice in the matter is the human being whose only chance at life is being distinguished. I do understand there are certain extenuating circumstances, but I don't think birth control should be one of them.
Paula, thank you.
Mia, in the last year adoptions from Ethiopia to the U.S. have skyrocketed ~~ growing faster than any other country in the world. They have risen from 731 in 2006 to more than 2,200 last year. That's nearly six children per day and a lot of them are as old as ten years old. So, something must be going on.
Alicia, yes, I think once a child is aborted, at whatever stage, the parents should have an opportunity to see him or her. Perhaps that might put an end to multiple abortions. And I agree, abortion should not be illegal. That won't stop it. We need to find positive solutions.
Like one of our former presidents, I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and RARE. It is a poor form of birth control, and ideally would only be for medical reasons.
In their moral zealousness, super religious parents actually cause abortion. Sometimes their children cannot face telling them they are pregnant. These same kinds of parents try to control our political process by getting people to focus politically on nothing but abortion and homosexuality. Any candidate who professes to be against both can get elected, no matter what awful plan they have for the country.
Paula, I like that ~~ safe, legal and RARE. I agree with all three, with conditions. But I also believe we should concentrate more on contraception and sex education. You're so right about the religious zealots. I don't see how religion and reproduction can be discussed in the same breath. Folks have moralized everything to the point where everything is stigmatized. It's just too narrow thinking for my liking.
(BTW, when are you going to start a blog? You have a great mind, and wonderful intelligence!)
Actually, the surgery to which I referred (vasectomy) is not irreversible, though that used to be the case.
Rob-bear, oh, I didn't know that. Interesting.
Great post, Jo. I believe that if you want to have sex with someone without protection you should be willing to bear the consequences, so to speak. There are so many means of birth control, you can prevent it. Once the egg meets the sperm, it's a baby, even if only one or two cells. And to abort a viable baby when those who can't conceive are desperately waiting to adopt, well that's just so selfish...
Sorry, I'm definitely anti abortion and don't think it should be an option. But I guess you are too! LOL!
Susie, "Once the egg meets the sperm, it's a baby, even if only one or two cells." I totally agree...! It's a human being, not a potato or a mushroom ... or whatever ... it's a human being. And this is its once chance at life.
Jo, you are too kind!
Paula, no, I really mean it...!
I believe that abortion should be legal because there are often extenuating circumstances, but people should also be responsible enough not to consider it a form of birth control. Women should be in control of their own bodies, and making abortion illegal again would have ramifications in every aspect of our lives.
I do not endorse late stage termination, though. If one is going to take this step thoughtfully and regretfully, she should manage to do it in the first trimester. As for its one chance at life, sometimes pregnancy and childbirth would kill the mother, who may have other children who need her. It's a heartbreaking call either way, but I do believe that the human being who is already here should take precedence.
Susan, I used to work in the Medical/Genetics Department of a large hospital, and I know there are many extenuating circumstances for terminating a pregnancy, and for the parents it is always heartbreaking. So yes, I totally agree, abortion should not be illegal. That would serve no purpose. But it should not be a form of birth control. I believe all human life is valuable. I think we do need to reconsider forms of prevention rather than *cure*.
It requires the wisdom of Solomon, doesn't it?
Just a correction on my comment. I meant to say I disagree with "elective abortion" and not "selective abortion". Selective abortion may be necessary according to circumstances whereas elective abortion is mostly not facing up to one's responsibilities.
Calvin, yes, I see the difference. I just really have a problem with abortion on so many levels. I think it should be an extreme last-ditch effort, but definitely not a method of birth control. It's a human life, isn't it...?
Not enough children to be adopted? Sorry, that is untrue. There are plenty of children that need homes. Only problem? Almost every person wanting so "desperately" to adopt ONLY want babies. They will not even consider adopting older children. Obviously they don't want them that badly then do they?
Kait, well my point is not about adoption, but about abortion. I don't believe in it, and I don't think it should be used as a form of birth control. Adoption is a whole other matter. It is unfortunate that people don't want older children. That is sad.
Selling babies, ah yes. Something like this, then.
I suppose it's true that no other species aborts, but that's probably because they don't know how. Killing one's own young after they're born is quite common, however, and they aren't blobs of matter either. (Incidentally, any fetus you've seen after an abortion or, more likely, a miscarriage -- which is an abortion performed by God -- is not a blob of matter, but those would be late abortions. A pregnancy aborted by the "morning after pill" definitely involves a few cells too small for you to see.)
I agree, Jo, that more attention to contraception is important, but I think any woman who'd believe a man who told her, "It's okay, baby, I'm on the pill" would be a mother very soon. Contraception should be a joint concern, but in the end it's the woman who'll get pregnant.
Which brings to mind the notion of abortion for "convenience," a term which in that context is an abomination itself. I'm not a woman, so I can't speak from experience, but women I've listened to and read agree that pregnancy is an exciting experience, when it's wanted, but it is hellish if it isn't wanted. It's especially revealing, I think, in a thread that is all or almost all women, that "humanitarian" here refers only to the fetus, not to the woman carrying it. Aren't women human too? Evidently not.
Promiscuous Reader, oh, yes, it's a problem that requires the wisdom of Solomon, that's for sure. But I still believe that those few cells contain the complete code for a human being ~~ one who will never exist again. So, what to do? I don't have the answer, that is for sure. I only know what I personally believe, but I would never force my beliefs on other people. That is their decision to make, and it is never an easy one.
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