2008-02-07

Pro-life or pro-murder?

Sorry, did that get your attention? I started this blog really to get things off my mind, things that sometimes sit there and fester and help to make me unfocused. For whatever reason, this is one of those subjects that’s been really bothering me for the last 2 weeks.

When I was younger, I was whole-heartedly pro-choice. I felt that while there was NO way I could ever have an abortion (I mean afterall, little things weigh heavily on my mind and drive me crazy, could you imagine the overtime my brain would be putting in on that one?), it was not my place to tell others what they should or could do.

That’s back when I still kinda thought of myself as a democrat too.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen more things, experienced more things as I’m sure I will do in the future. I’ve had my children. ALL of which were unplanned. Why were they unplanned? Because we didn’t take all the necessary precautions to NOT get pregnant before we were ready to do so. Is that the baby’s fault? Nope. It’s mine and Chuck’s.

To me abortion is not about interfering in God’s divine will. Otherwise, I would have a problem with birth control or my husband being neutered. All of which I don’t have a problem with. To me abortion is about not stepping up and taking responsibility for your actions, and it’s murder. I feel there are so many issues in society today because we’ve made it okay for things to be someone else’s fault. No one feels it’s their responsibility to step up to whatever their actions vomited back at them. Tough. Deal with it. You chose not to be responsible, deal with those consequences. If you feel that you can’t deal with a child at that point, there is always alternatives such as adoption.

Murder, you say? Yes. I feel that from the moment of conception and the cells’ division, you have a baby. Even as early as 8 weeks you can see and hear the baby’s heartbeat. See the hands and feet forming. The idea of the government intervening and telling you what you can and cannot do is a big argument for those pro-choicers. But, yet, there are already laws that do not allow me to kill my husband when I no longer want him around (and yes, there are some of those moments!) Yet, it’s somehow okay to kill a baby in the womb because you don’t want it.

In church last weekend, there was a statistic that 1/3 of all American women have had unplanned pregnancies that ended in abortion. That number made me stagger a bit, until I really started to think about it. Chuck said there is no way that the number is that high. But think about it…I know personally 4 women who have had an abortion. Of those women, one woman had 3 abortions, another had 8. Yes. EIGHT. So, if that is the ones I KNOW about, how many do I not know about among my friends and acquaintances? Afterall, there is a stigma still surrounding abortion even though it is legal in the US. So, even after all the sex education that we went through, all the commercials for condoms, all the literature, etc that is out there we still continue to have that many abortions. It’s appalling.

I don’t feel that I’m forcing anyone to have an unwanted child. That decision was made the moment they chose not to use protection or protect themselves from an unwanted pregnancy. But how can we say that murder is okay in one instance, but not another?

I'm not posting this for anyone to try to change my mind, it won't work. Especially not after I wake up in the morning and see the smiling faces of my three children. And if Chuck can't change my mind...I highly doubt that anyone else will be able to. This post is purely to get my thoughts out there-for me.

6 comments:

Ranni said...

I could never do it either. I've always been pro-life. I do understand that sometimes some feel it's the best choice for them, but like you, I want to ask/yell/scream 'why didn't you think of that first???'. I don't want to judge another for their choices. I do want people to start thinking ahead. And if you're at the point where you're facing a decision, check out adoption. There are sooooo many couples who want a baby more than anything yet can't have one of their own. It's just so sad.

And another thing. I'm getting a little sick and tired of having to understand others points of view. I won't judge you for having an abortion but please, do me a favor back and stop trying to make me say "I understand. It's ok.". Let's agree to disagree.

Julie Julie Bo Boolie said...

Protection doesn't always work and not everyone is having sex by choice. I have my tubes tied but if I got pregnant I couldn't carry the baby to term and we would both likely die. Where's the choice in that? What about the 13 year old raped by her step-father? Where's the choice in that?

It's so easy to condone those who use abortion as birth control but they're only a percentage and we don't even know how big of a percentage they are. In the meantime if you limit access to all there are those like me and like my friend who was raped and impregnated at 13 years old to suffer death or severe emotional trauma.

I respect your views... honestly I do. But I have to be honest. If I ever found myself pregnant, if that one in a hundred percent chance was me... I'd choose life but it would be my own.

Julie Julie Bo Boolie said...

I just want to say that I wasn't meaning to come off as critical or debating.. I just wanted to let you know where I stood and why. I 100% believe that you're entitled to your opinion.. hopefully you'll never have to think of me as a murderer as it's really not something I'd relish ever happening.

BEST...

Lisa said...

Hi Julie!

Thanks for the comment!

As I discussed with another friend tonight, I wouldn't stop being friends with someone because of an abortion. I have 2 good friends that I still adore that chose to have one. But I would also never encourage anyone to have one and would try to dissuade them if I could. But in the end, it's your decision and something that you must live with yourself.

I do have some conflicting feelings regarding the rape/molestation scenario for reasons I won't get into right now, but the percentage of abortions due to that reason is actually the lower percentage to those who don't act responsibly. My problems with abortions stem largely from the use of it as a casual form of birth control.

No worries about the debate. It's one I've had with 3 loved ones in the last 2 weeks :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for respecting my views as much as I respect yours. :) I appreciate your openess and honesty!

HUGS

Author said...

This is the exact reason for blogs - to lay your thoughts out there and let the world take it for what it is....brava!

 

The Insider | Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial License | Dandy Dandilion Designed by Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates