ABORTION: The Great Debate

     Well you had to know that it was coming to this. Abortion: Pro Choice vs Pro Life. Oh no, this is a big one and someone is bound to be disgusted by my opinion on this. Based on my other posts, I am sure some of you have already guessed that I am very Pro Choice. Let's just think about that for a minute, shall we? Pro Choice, meaning that I believe that there should be an option. What really makes me angry is that when you tell people that you are Pro Choice they automatically think that you are not Pro Life. Like you can't possibly be both. Pro Choice does not mean Pro Death. I am very Pro Life. I love life, I have two of my own children and could not imagine my life without them. I can be a lover of life and still believe that a woman should have the option of deciding what is best for her and her unborn child. That having been explained I am definitely Pro Choice!
     Now days it seems that the number of actual procedures should be dropping off significantly based on all of the products that are available to prevent pregnancy in the first place. There is the old and faithful abstinence and if that doesn't sound good there are condoms, the pill, the ring, the IUD and all of it's newest versions, the shot, the implant, the diaphragm, and the morning after pill. I am sure that I missed something, but you get the point; there are so many ways to prevent pregnancy that it would certainly seem that the need for the actual medical procedure should be lessening. If we spent the proper time teaching self respect and abstinence and spent good "quality" time loving and nurturing our daughters they would very likely not feel the need to have sex at such an age where they are to immature to prevent the likely pregnancy.
     Back to the topic at hand.  No matter how many ways we can prevent pregnancy, unwanted pregnancies are still occurring, and for those girls and women there are only a few options.  Like it or not abortion IS one of the options. It seems a moral issue for most and I can appreciate that, but it is so much more than just that.  The moral issue shouldn't just be whether or not it is immoral or wrong to put an end to a life before it's birth. The morality of bringing a child into this already declining and over populated world and then sentencing it to life of struggle and uncertainty should also be considered.  Women are already having unwanted children on a daily basis and we can see the affects all over the news.  Some women do just fine until one day their child has a temper tantrum and the mother simply malfunctions and kills her child.  Some women give birth and abandon their child, others throw them from windows and bridges within hours of birth.  Some mothers use their children as a personal "meal ticket", while others just really neglect and abuse them.  YES, I did say MEAL TICKET, and I know what your thinking but it is true and you know it.  Everyone knows or has heard of someone who simply had a child because of the "opportunity" that child could afford them.  The father has some wealth, the father's family has some wealth, the welfare options, the pity and/or attention that a pregnant woman usually receives, security in a marriage and so on. Yeah all those things that shouldn't factor in to deciding to have a child that ultimately do when the pregnancy was unplanned and unwanted.
     Abortion itself is a traumatic and painful procedure that should be seriously considered before the final decision is made.  It is a medical procedure that not only changes your body and soul, it also changes your life.  Abortion is NOT a procedure that should ever be used as a form of birth control, however there are plenty of real life situations where abortion is not only an answer, but it is the right answer.  All of you radical Pro Lifers out there act as though every sought after abortion is the action of an uninformed selfish girl that doesn't realize what she is about to do and even worse, doesn't care. You are, in most cases, so damn wrong.  Most of these women are not looking for a "get out of jail free card", they instead are resorting to a thought out available option for a situation that could result in the destruction of more than one life.  The procedure can and has been abused by women that are just stupid and thoughtless, but for the most part I do not believe that those cases are the norm. And for the cases where women have abused it, all I can say is thank God those women are not having these children. Can you imagine just how unimportant those children would be once they were here?  Can you imagine how abused, neglected and tortured their little lives would be.  Those are the children that end up in our jails and on our streets living out an existence that isn't productive to anyone.  So yes, I will again say that for some women and some situations,  abortion is the right answer.  I think it goes without saying that there are plenty of reasons to accept the option of abortion and they are all different from case to case.
     I personally would urge some of these women who have a handful of kids, no husband or male remodel, no secure home life, that are on welfare and collecting food stamps and cash assistance from the state to seriously consider the options when the next inevitable pregnancy "pops up".  It would be nice if these women were mature enough to prevent these pregnancies, but obviously that is an issue for them. It would be even nicer if the men having sex with them would realize  that there is a very good chance that by having sex with these women that they are increasing their chances of becoming a father.  Still even better would be if the state would stop making it so damn easy to live on welfare for generation after generation. I sincerely believe that just because your body is made to reproduce does not mean that you should! It is ok that some people would not make good parents, as long as they don't become parents!  Know yourself, know you dreams and then go explore them without creating a life that you could destroy.
     A dear friend brought to my attention that fathers in general have no rights until after the child is born, and that he thought that was part of the problem.  Ordinarily that is not a fight I would even consider, but given the state that this country is in I think I will agree with him.  If two people have unprotected sex that results in a pregnancy, why are only the women empowered to "deal" with it?  Suppose that a man does not want the responsibility of a child with a woman that he thoughtlessly had sex with.  Why should he and the child have to suffer through an unwanted union because the woman decided that she wants to have the baby?  What if the fathers had a right to say, I don't want this, but if you do than go ahead, just know that I will not be responsible.  What if it was a law that if women followed through with a pregnancy when the father is opposed that she forfeits the right to child support?  How many children would be born out of that situation?  Well, if I were a betting woman, and I am, I would say a very small percentage.  That in itself would help to hinder the unwanted pregnancy, don't you think?  At the of the day, abortion is a tough and much needed option that sometimes offers a blessing in disguise. Don't hate the player, hate the game!! Stop the pregnancies before they start and stop making raising a child the burden of every tax payer.  My Mother always said, "There is more than one way to skin a cat".