Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Life is a sexually transmitted disease.

I believe abortion is wrong. It's my body. It's another person's life inside. I believe life starts at conception. This is not a question of religious beliefs, but a belief that has yet to be proved or disproved by science.

If I'm having sex, I'd better be willing to accept the consequences for it. Whether those consequences be disease, or a child. Do I think the subject is more sensitive in the cases of sexual abuse or rape? Yes, yes I do. Do I believe it's still wrong to end a life through abortion at that point? Yes, yes I do. I recognize the difficulties in this kind of situation, but I still think the child should have a voice.

If I know someone who has had an abortion will I judge them? Absolutely not. I have my beliefs, and they have theirs. My beliefs are not up for debate, so why should I assume theirs are? I will sit by their side and hold their hand, and walk them through the experience because it's what they want, and I'm not the person that will be judging them on judgement day, if there is such a thing. I have plenty of things in my life that are judgement worthy and who I am to decide if they are more or less harmful to the world at large than abortion?

Do I want Roe v. Wade overturned? I'm not sure. If abortion is illegal, teenage girls, and women are still going to get abortions. They will be unsafe and hundreds will die. Overturning Roe v. Wade seems like a death sentence for hundreds of future abortion-getters. I don't think that overturning Roe v. Wade is going to solve any perceived "problems". I don't think the abortion issue will ever be solved. Ever. It will be in debate for all of eternity, so how is making it illegal going to solve anything? It's not.

I debated for a long time about opening this post up for comments. My beliefs are not up for debate. Feel free to post your opinion, but I'm not trying to change anyone else's opinion, so do not try to change mine. Any debative comment will be deleted.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The freedom of choice comes when you choose to have sex. If you absolutely don't want a child, then maybe you should think about what you're doing. While my feelings on abortion are rooted in religion, it's also partly because no one can really decide when a fetus becomes a child. There are children who are born and survive at 24 weeks (rather than a full-term 40). There are fetuses aborted at that stage. People wouldn't dream of actively killing the newborn, but the fetus is fair game.

While I would like an overturn of Roe v. Wade, I also won't fight for it. I would strongly try to persuade a friend not to go through with an abortion. It will be an actual pain to me knowing what her decision is, but I will not refuse to ever talk to her again. I will comfort her, etc., and support her as best I can. We'll all make decisions that our friends will not, cannot understand. I would like to extend the same generousity towards my friends that they extend towards me when I do things they consider wrong.

theresa said...

Well put. I struggled with words when I posted my opinion on the subject.

Like you said, if Roe v. Wade is overturned it will lead to a lot of unsafe backroom procedures which will open up a whole new set of concerns. People aren't going to stop having abortions so if there is a safe way to provide that service it should be done.

In South Dakota there were over 800 abortions performed. It scares me to think 800 women would have to turn to unsafe measures.

Just like you, I don't think this will ever be solved. It's important for people to realize that almost everyone has an opinion on the subject. Though one person's opinion may be different from someone else's, you have to respect that opinion even if you don't agree with it. Like most things in life, tolerance and respect are key.

Sarah said...

am i pro-abortion? hell no. i would never have one. however, i am pro-choice for a couple of reasons. 1. i think it should remain legal because people are going to terminate pregnancies, period. and 2. i'm stubborn and it pisses me off to no end to think that a bunch of fat old men can tell me what i can and can't do to my body.

just my $.02

Sarah said...

that's cool, i wasn't trying to draw any parallels there. what i said was completely independent of anyone else's views.

i would never do it, i've said that. it's not a method of birth control. it's relatively easy not to get pregnant. however, when you take an innocent person who's not choosing to be sexually active, i believe she has a right not to be forced to carry that child.

basically the sticking points for me are the cases of rape/abuse/incest whatever. this law that we've got going here doesn't allow for that.

Sarah said...

silly dawn, taking your comment down. :)

Brianinmpls said...

Have any of you ever read Freakanomics? It has an interesting twist on the subject

Brianinmpls said...

good post Dawn

theresa said...

I haven't had the chance to read it, but I plan to.

Toni said...

I have a REALLY hard time with this topic. Really hard. It's taken me a long time to even be able to talk about abortion without wanting to choke someone. I'm over that now :)

I'm not so sure I should get into my whole long story in Dawn's comments though...

I do respect everyone's opinions on this topic...as different as some of them are.

WaAngel said...

Hmmm. I guess what I find interesting about this subject is that no one is ABSOLUTELY sure what they want when it comes to abortion.

On the one hand you have people who don't think that abortion should be legal, yet make an exception for rape victims (abuse and incest included here).

On the other hand, you have people who think that abortion should be legal, but wouldn't fight for it.

I have always found this topic very interesting for people to post (and comment) about.

My opinion on the subject? Well, I have a very biased opinion. One that isn't taken to very well, so I won't go there. But I will say this...

It's good to know that people think about the pros and cons of a situation so completely that they cannot be absolutely sure one way or the other if something is right or wrong (and no, I'm not being sarcastic). This issue, in my biased opinion, is something that is a moral judgement for the person (or persons) involved. I don't believe that ANYONE can tell me (or Dawn, or anyone else) what my morals are and whether or not abortion is right for me.


But that's just my opinion.

Toni said...

My opinion, goes with yours in some ways Megs.

I have a really hard time telling someone that they can't get an abortion. I don't think it should be a method for birth control though (which I don't think anyone does, even pro-choice people...)

Because of my past, I have a hard time being pro-choice though. But, because of other beliefs I have a hard time being pro-life.

Anonymous said...

Just a point of clarifiaction, in case there's any confusion: overturning Roe would NOT make abortion illegal. It would then be left up to the states.

Interestingly, however, because of the expansive reading of the Commerce Clause, there's a pretty good argument, based on the current state of the law, that if Roe were overturned, Congress could place nationwide restrictions on abortion. That Congress probably has this power is, in my opinion, most unfortunate, but that goes well beyond the issue of abortion and into the general issue of federalism and the Commerce Clause.

Rocketstar said...

First, kudos for tackling a tough subject very well.

IMHO,

First, until we feed, cloth, house every LIVING child and adult in this country, let's not worry about those that have not yet made it out yet.

Secondly, giving birth is a dangerous event, a women can die from giving birth. Therefore, for someone to think that they can make a life or death decision for another person, is ludicrous.

It has to remain a personal decision.

Life begins when the host decides it begins.