Monday 14 February 2011

Pro Life or Pro Choice?

The fourth of @formulaic666 and I's relaunch of Crossblogination, and we're confronting 'Abortion'.  You can go see what Paul thinks here.

Such a difficult topic.  Emotive, highly volatile and one that often brings out the very worst in people from all walks of life and on both sides.

Rather than critique either side of the argument it probably makes sense to say where I sit with it, how abortion makes me feel and where I see the rights and wrongs.

I absolutely believe in choice.  I'm also very liberal in my views on most topics.  So I believe in a woman having a choice to abort a pregnancy.  In most instances.  In a nut shell, if it wasn't legal then it would still be happening, driven underground, a fistful of notes handed over for a back street abortion.  Is that really the sort of society we want?  

I also get the sanctity of life thing.  Not in a religious fervor sort of way, but in a, 'The whole idea of abortion makes me feel uneasy,' sort of way.  And that, to be honest, isn't so much based around the actual act but more around the way I've seen and heard about it being used repeatedly as a form of contraception.  One accident is understandable but to keep letting that happen, to keep going to the clinic until any thoughts of guilt have long since dissipated, just feels wrong.

But that's the price of choice.  And you can't legislate for some people's selfishness.

I am absolutely certain that most women find the process an incredibly harrowing one.  An unbelievable weight that they must carry after they've completed the process.  It must be an incredibly difficult decision and I've seen the after effects of that choice too.  The way that potential birthdays are remembered and that nagging doubt about whether the right thing was done.  Those women I have the up most respect for.

Abortion polarises opinion and it polarises me.  On the one hand I support choice.  On the other I struggle with how easy it can be for a minority to abuse that choice and not feel the weight of their actions.

Tricky, ultimately I'm pro choice but I put that picture there deliberately.  Just to make you think for a second.

3 comments:

  1. Pro-life is a choice, making it pro-choice by default. On a personal level, abortion is not something I would consider. Especially when so many families aren't able to conceive, adoption would be a more logical option.
    But that's my choice.
    And I would never want another woman to be forced to make the same decision I would make.
    -KJC

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  2. The most interesting point of view on abortion I've heard, and the one that makes me think the most is this:

    Abortion is murder but we live in an ecosystem that values the strong over the weak.

    I have many issues with abortion. Though they should never have a say over a woman's body/choice the father has no say in the decision. Neither does the child and it *is* a child.

    The physical and mental health of the mother are the only factors that convince me an abortion is a valid option. Any other factors lead to much more desirable options. That being said, as a gay man I'm as disconnected from the potential need for an abortion as one can be. For this reason, the fact that as you say they would happen anyway, and the fact that there are cases where I see abortion as a viable option I'm pro-choice, but it's rare that I hear of an abortion case not related to one of the two reasons mentioned above that I am not heartbroken, frustrated and slightly-to-very judgmental.

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  3. Two of my close friends had abortions, and while I completely support a woman’s right to choose what goes on with her body, I would never have had one. That is my choice. I always wanted a child. I take folic acid (prevents spina bifida) every day—you never know. I was watching the film Revolutionary Road, and the main character, April, dies because of an abortion she performs on herself. I am so glad that safe, medical abortions are available now.

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