A Little Bit of Controversy
When I read Jamie from For Love of Cupcake's post about how becoming pregnant changed her viewpoint on abortion, I decided that I wanted to share my own thoughts on this. So, whether you agree or not, here is where I stand:
One of the most heated and controversial discussions is whether or not abortion is ethical. There are so many different arguments from either side of the debate with valid points.
I will admit that before I got pregnant I was mainly pro-choice, though I thought it was only okay in the very early stages. I had very little understanding of just how fast a fetus grows and thought that the tissue and cells growing inside the mother in the first trimester were just a blob of unformed life- not really a human yet- more fish like. This sounds terrible but I also thought that in some cases where a mother was so unfit to raise a child, she would almost be doing society and the unborn a favor by not bringing another person into the world.
Once I was pregnant and went in for my first sonogram around five weeks I saw a tiny beating heart and was amazed. It was crazy to me that this major organ was functioning so soon. I read weekly about each limb growing, how the brain was developing and all the facial features forming. I realized what a great responsibility the ability to reproduce was. It isn't a woman's "choice" to do with her body what she wants when we're talking about another life involved.
It's a grim reality that there are awful, awful people who abuse their children and treat them poorly. Ignorant people reproduce everyday. It's not fair to not give those babies a chance though. Some of the brightest and most successful people grew up in horrible circumstances. Who is to judge who can thrive and in what environment?
Pregnancy was one of the most amazing life experiences and I enjoyed it so much. I feel every woman should be fucking ecstatic about it. It's left me with a new found respect for human life. We all know how babies are conceived and we all know how to prevent it. If unprotected sex to you is worth the risk of getting pregnant then you need to be adult enough to deal with the consequence. If you don't feel you have the means to support your child then there is always adoption. Some people aren't fortunate enough to have what you've taken for granted.
18 Thoughts :
Well said. I think most people that have abortions are idiots who don't know how birth control works. The ONLY circumstance where I could possibly understand someone's decision to get an abortion would have to be a horrible rape type situation. But yes, once you know how soon all of the development starts, I personally don't know how anyone could make that decision...
Agreed, and then some. I dont know how anyone can deny that its a life in there. Great point that if you think you are ready for sex, you must be ready for a baby. Way to put it other there!
Ummmm, where's a picture of the baby?
Babies definitely change you forever huh? They are so precious and perfect. Being raised LDS (Mormon) we were taught to value and respect all life and that abortion is wrong and mocks God.
I wonder why people who are obviously not ready or willing continue to keep kids. As you said there are so many parents just aching for a baby.
That said my heart goes out to scared girls going through this scary and dangerous decision. I can't imagine what it does to their spirit.
We've tried for a while and now were adopting. So I am thankful for the women who choose LIFE for their babies, but at the end of the day the woman has the choice - its her body. Women's Rights has fought hard for our rights.
Beautifully written and well said!
This is a great post; very well-written! I am so glad you kept an open mind and saw how precious life in the womb is! <3 Thanks so much for posting and I really appreciate the link! :o)
Jamie
For Love of Cupcakes
Great post; very well-written! I'm so glad you kept an open mind and seeing your little baby realized how precious life is even before birth! Thanks so much for posting your story and I really appreciate the link! <3
Jamie
For Love of Cupcakes
What a sweet face!!!
P.S. Because I love your blog so much I've given you an award!!! http://lifeinthesetimesblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/awards-i-love-awards-drinks-all-around/
First off, Natalie is a mini-me of you. Holy. Cow. Second, this post is awesome. It made me think of in A Christmas Carol how the ghost says, "Who are you to say who should live and who should die?" Powerful stuff. Fact is, everything DOES happen for a reason. If you weren't meant to have that baby, you wouldn't have it. Plain and simle. I love the Sean Marie opinion posts! Thanks for this!
I agree with you 100%. I am 29 weeks along and though I have always been pro life, I am not pro life for religious reasons.I am a person of faith but that alone would not be enough for me to blindly adopt a pro life "political" viewpoint. I view this strictly as a human rights issue. With no intent to disrespect anyone else,I do not understand the argument that whilst inside the mother the fetus is not a person but as soon as it exists the womb it becomes one. It is what it is. It does not "transform" or change its essence based on it's location at the time of discussion. Science tells us what the unborn child is... a human being. And besides, how many women even know they are pregnant at the moment when their child is "merely a ball of cells"? Not many. By the time a period is missed you are usually at LEAST 4 weeks in. I consider myself a feminist so I get upset when people argue that my belief in the rights of unborn people infringe upon the rights of the woman. A woman has the right to engage in sexual activity. That's her right. I don't see how she inherently has the right to terminate her pregnancy because I believe it involves two bodies, not merely one. One can argue that we should make allowances for the cases of rape/incest/imminent danger to the mother's life. I say, fine! Because, truthfully, the majority of abortions that happen are not for those reasons. We need to do a better job teaching women and girls about sexual responsibility. Sure, you can engage in whatever behavior you choose but when you choose a behavior you choose the consequences for that behavior. Positive or negative. One last thing before I finish, I know this is lengthy, but I have a cousin who delivered a baby at 24 weeks gestation. I watched doctors fight tooth and nail to save the life of that child and pour as many resources into him that they possibly could to keep him alive. He lived. And he's fine today. But the day before my cousin delivered him she could have legally "terminated" that pregnancy. Tell me, from a position of logic, how that makes any sense. It's semantics. I rarely talk about this issue publicly because I dislike controversy but I am glad you shared your views on this. Made me want to express mine.
You are right on the money with this one! Great post!
I completely agree with you.
I have never, ever agreed with abortion and never will. Even if I end up in a situation where I am pregnant and do not want a child, I will never resort to abortion, my option would have to be adoption.
I really don't know how people can go through with it knowing that there are so many husbands and wives unable to have their own children. Grr, makes me angry.
Great post!
I am pro-choice and will continue to be so after having my son. It's not something I would personally choose, but I don't like the idea of the government dictating what women can and can't do with their bodies. I have a friend of a friend who has told me she has had three abortions because they weren't ready to have a child "yet". Now that does infuriate me.
I could never in a million years get one myself, and I would be very sad if someone in my family ever did (because hey, that's my niece/nephew/cousin, whatever). I don't like the idea at all of abortion, but I'm pro-choice because it's not up to me to decide what other people should do.
Having children does change things, doesn't it.
Thanks for sharing this and for following Finally Friday!
oouch. prochoice is a code word for pro-abortion. we always have a choice in how we will react
Mother Teresa said " what a great poverty to kill a baby so you could live the way you want."
Having had an abortion I am absolutely pro-life. Abortion ruined my life for years, and sent me on a downward spiral of self destructive behaviour. Having my son is what pulled me back out of it. I tell my story because I hope it will prevent other mothers from making the same mistake I did.
Not only does our perspective change (on lot's of topics too) as we get married, pregnant, have kids... etc. but I think it just happens as we get older. I feel totally different these days about the subject than when I was in my late teens/young 20's. AND... Cute, cute pic of little miss on the couch! and yes I took those pics of Mason. Hubs got me a new lens for xmas, and now I'm obsessed even more with taking pics :)
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