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On AbortionSome are trying to use our democracy to return the women of the United States to the Victorian era. This is all being done in the name of the Right To Life. A noble sentiment but is the loss of women’s rights worth the cost? Abortion is not a nice clean word nor is it the horrendous thing that some are making it out to be. While it is all well and good to promote the welfare of a unborn human, is it wise to promote a possible human above the welfare of the mother? I believe the anti-abortion movement is being used by right-wing, fundamentalist religions to promote their agenda of what they consider to be the natural order of things. Women are only tolerated because without them life would cease to exist and there would be no more souls to rescue from hell or to dominate with fear. Yes, some women are willing to give up their rights to their own bodies and why shouldn’t they? Most religions still teach that man is in charge of, not just responsible for, his wife. Substitute "propriety" for "wife" and you have the Victorian era all over again. To be honest, some men want this power over women and a few men see it as their God-given right. If Roe Vs. Wade is overturned the rights of women will be infringed while the power of men will be increased. Abortion can easily survive even if Roe Vs. Wade is overturned. Someone will start a religion that sanctions abortions and then we will see more intolerance than we can now imagine. Abortion will enter the arena of religious expression and the Middle Ages will be repeated. Imagine the religious wars of the past but now with modern weapons and you will have some idea of the possible devastation that can be let loose when beliefs graduate to fanaticism. The mythical story of the Garden Of Eden is used to show how evil women are and to blame our condition on their curiosity. Many religious leaders believe women cannot properly serve in the church without male guidance and women are prevented from holding high offices in the church because they are unclean. A natural, bodily function, which surely was created and sanctioned by their deity, is used to degrade and subjugate women. These leaders use their religions as an excuse to promote males and stigmatize females. Women are blamed for man’s inability to control his own thoughts. Therefore, it is the woman’s fault for causing men to want their bodies. Women, according to the extremist in our religions, keep men from his higher, spiritual self by their mere presence. The weakness of the male is overlooked just as the strength of the female is discounted. We can return to the past and blame women for all ills and evils or we can advance to the future. History tells us that what works survives, what doesn’t work dies. If abortion is such a threat to our survival, it will fail on its own. If we keep making it a big deal then we are only feeding the fire of its survival. Abortion is about rights. Not the rights of religions to force their beliefs on society nor the rights of the male to own or control the female. Abortion is about the right of a living organism to choose its own destiny over that of a possibly organism. Abortion is being used to promote sexism instead of education, religion instead of tolerance, and force instead of freedom. I find it difficult to trust the motives of any organization that uses a 2000-year old guide as doctrine for an anti-abortion stance. Especially when some of these organizations deny the use of contraceptives to its faithful to prevent pregnancies but appear to protect its male clergy from disclosure and prosecution of sexual acts with minors. If the anti-abortion movement really wishes to stop abortions, why don’t they provide an incentive to women to give birth instead of trying to intimidate and shame them for exploring the option of abortion? Because, I believe, the anti-abortion movement is not so much about life as it is about the desire to dictate to the masses, who are incapable of correctly using their freedom of choice - at least according to some. Just because a women can get pregnant and give birth is not sufficient justification to force that woman to do what she does not want to do. Is abortion really worse than a child growing up in an environment where it is constantly reminded that he or she isn’t loved or wanted? While there should be some form of abortion guidelines based on the latest medically proven ideas, those guidelines should not be imposed on others, even through legislation. If a woman wants an abortion, I believe the father should - if possible - be consulted. Abortion should be a joint decision whenever possible but the final word must come from the woman because she has more to lose or gain by that decision. In the case of underage pregnancies, the immediate family has a right to offer support to influence the decision but without condemnation, pressure, or threats. Again, the father, regardless of age, should be held accountable regardless of whether an abortion is performed or not. Abortion is about the rights of women even if we disagree with their decision. Abortion is as much a right as it is for women to decide whether to even have children or to get married. The anti-abortion movement is nothing more than a thinly-veiled backdoor method of forcing women to deal with the consequences of enjoying the pleasures of the body. Where are the consequences for men who impregnate and flee? Abortion is about individual rights - not the rights of society or the beliefs of today’s popular religions. Abortion is about the rights of those who do exist and not about the rights of those who could exist - if only… Author: Don Miller Abortion Reply 1 Abortion Reply 2 Abortion Reply 3
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