K~
Abortion is one of those “button
issues” in politics. I imagine that it will be for quite a few more
elections, unfortunately. Now, I can see both sides. It took me a
while, but I really can understand why one group is so opposed, and
one group tends to be more pro-choice. (I hate that term. The
opposing team likes to argue that the baby isn't “choosing” to
die. Ugh. Really, guys? That's the best term you could come up with -
something that gives the other side a comeback?)
Rant aside, here's what I can
understand: Some people believe that life begins at conception. Okay.
I can see that point. For instance, look at miscarriages. I realize
that a miscarriage is nothing to joke about, and just because it is
called a spontaneous abortion does not mean it is equivalent in any
way to an abortion. This is a very serious subject to a number of
people because they lost a life that was being carried. That's the
reason miscarriages are sad, because a life has been lost. Given the
reality of the sadness behind every miscarriage story, we as a
society seem to have accepted that an unborn child is considered to
be alive.
I have found, from the edges of the
internet to the daily news, a very wide number regarding percentage
of miscarriages. I've heard anywhere from 10% to 75% of women have a
miscarriage at some point in their lives. I found a fantastic article
that summarizes a 1988 study* that found 22% of all conceptions
(fertilization of the egg) did not implant, and 31% of implanted eggs
(clinically recognized pregnancies) end in miscarriage. Now it should
be noted that the majority of that 31% of implanted eggs that are
miscarried occur so early on that the woman's period still comes at a
relatively normal time. Nobody panic. Regardless, that's a lot of
miscarriages. A whole lot.
I cannot argue that life beings at
fertilization. I just can't see anything wrong with ending that life
given the frequency with which it occurs naturally.
This brings me to abortion. Yes, it is
absolutely the woman's choice. I feel though that the woman should
make an informed choice. There's nothing wrong with deciding you're
not ready to be a parent, and you're not willing to force another
child through the foster/adoption system. (Has anyone looked into
some of those horror stories?!) I feel that within the walls of an
abortion clinic there should be informative posters touting real
facts. I don't believe a woman should be pressured out of (or into,
for that matter) abortion. I just feel that a woman needs to fully
understand what she is aborting. She is aborting just a small cluster
of cells, but that cluster has a heart that beats 65 times each
minute before she is even aware that she is pregnant. If that kind of
information bothers a woman, then abortion may not be for her. It
isn't something that can be swept under the rug once the procedure is
performed. It's hard to find a statistic from a neutral source
regarding the number of women who regret having an abortion.
Regardless of whether it's 1% or the audacious claim that up to 85%
of women regret their abortion, I feel that those women, with more
information, may have reached a decision that did not end in regret.
No woman should feel ashamed or regret over a decision she made
between herself and a healthcare professional.
As for the law, I feel that abortion
should not be illegal. Let's postulate that abortion becomes illegal.
I live within 100 miles of the Mexico border. If I had my heart set
on getting an abortion, I wouldn't be stopped. For those who are
farther from the border, dark alleys, a back room in someone's house,
or a rented storage unit can all become impromptu, and likely far
more dangerous, abortion clinics. I think that it is dangerous and
irresponsible for lawmakers to make abortion illegal.
In a study of more than 10,000 women,
14% of them were cited as suffering from postpartum depression**.
We'll assume, for the sake of argument and the lack of statistics,
that only a negligible number of these women unwillingly had these
children. So in this study where most women chose to have the child,
14% had postpartum depression. 19% of those cited with postpartum
depression had thoughts of harming themselves. The rates may soar if
abortions were to become illegal. Imagine how many women, stuck with
a child they didn't want and suffering from postpartum depression,
may choose to harm or kill themselves. That could result in the child
being left alone for an indeterminate amount of time. Regardless of
when one feels life begins, once the child is out of the womb,
living, breathing, and squirming, it is undeniably alive. The weight
of that reality, of that being, ever present for the next 18 years,
dependent forever, may be too much for the woman. Untreated
postpartum can be deadly, and it isn't fair to place an unwilling
woman in that position.
*This website summarizes the study
quite nicely:
http://miscarriage.about.com/od/pregnancyafterloss/f/70percent.htm
*A link to the original study:
**An article on the study of the
occurrence of postpartum depression:
It has some other interesting
information about what a problem untreated postpartum depression can
be.
** A link to the original study:
No comments:
Post a Comment