God Bless South Dakota (2)

I received a very thoughtful response to my post on the feminist web site about abortion. I am posting here to invoke further discussion for those who wish to participate. Her response was in 2 parts and is as follows:

(First response)

KrlyQ, don't be scared to post an opposing viewpoint, as long as you are polite and respectful about it. :)

I'm lazy, so I'm going to respond to a few of your points in point form.

Most women who choose abortion DO use other forms of birth control - but no method is 100% effective.

If abortion was made illegal, women would not be "irritated" - many would be in danger. In danger of death or lifelong illness/disability, in danger of being unable to support themselves and their child, in danger of being forced to stay with an abusive partner, etc, etc.

And absolutely men have a right to choose whether or not to rape people - choosing to be a rapist is a personal choice. Of course, I have no respect for rapists (or anyone who chooses to harm another human being) and it has negative consequences for many people (the people he rapes obviously, and himself if he is caught and arrested) but it's still his choice.

I differ from you on just one thing - I don't believe that an embryo/fetus can be a full fledged human (with all of the rights that all other humans are entitled to). I don't see how it is logistically possible for a fetus and a woman to both be human beings with equal rights AND inhabit the same body. One of them has to be more important than the other. If a woman has a difficult pregnancy and she chooses to abort for that reason (or because she is unable to support a child or because she just doesn't want to be pregnant for whatever reason), that is because her health is more important than her unborn child's. If a woman must continue a pregnancy no matter what (because killing her unborn child is immoral) then the fetus is more important.

Bottom line, I value the lives of born people more than the lives of the unborn.

(second response)

Okay, actually maybe I differ from you on another thing too.

I don't know if you've ever been pregnant before (if you have, you probably know what I'm talking about here), but I have been, twice. Both times it ended in a miscarriage (unfortunately), but I have experienced pregnancy and let me tell you, it is no picnic. It changed my life DRAMATICALLY. I actually had to quit my (very physical) job the first time because it was too painful for me. My boyfriend broke up with me, because my personality changed so dramatically during my pregnancy (as a result of all the crazy-inducing hormones). After the second, my bladder control will never be the same again.

A pregnancy, even a relatively normal/easy one, is not just a minor inconvenience. It changes you, not just temporarily. I want to get pregnant again and have children eventually, but I sure as heck wouldn't wish that on anyone who wasn't 100% into it.

(Note: I am an average, healthy young woman. I haven't got any special health issues that would potentially cause issues for me during pregnancy, other than a streak of bad luck. And if I had such bad luck, how about the women who are less fortunate than me? (Older, unhealthy, etc women.)

Here is my response:

(user name), thank you for your considerate response. I agree that when 2 or more people disagree on an issue as important as abortion and they choose to discuss/debate on these types of forums, politeness and respect are essential.

As far as your comment about women being in danger if abortion was illegal; I'm sorry to say but that is an untrue statement. This is one of many statements that have been repeated so often and for so many years that the general public believes it to be true, but it is not. I've read confessions from Dr. Bernard Nathanson over the years and he explains how he knew that in order to gain more favorable support for abortion they would have to lead people to believe that women were dying from unsafe abortions. He admits that the information given at that time were flat out lies. I will be adding a web address on my blog where you can read some of what he had to say on this subject.

Your reference to the man's choice to rape is 100% true, but please keep in mind that EVERYONE has a choice whether or not he/she will commit a crime against another human being. The point is that we as a society agree that it is wrong and expect our government officials (police officers) to make the arrest and for additional government officials (court) to prosecute and sentence that man for that crime. We would never allow a rapist to go free and allow him to continue to rape under the banner of 'pro-choice'.

You mention the life of the mother being more important than the life of the unborn baby. The ban, from what I've read would cover the circumstance of the mother's life, if her life was in jeopardy. That is one of the reasons that the act of abortion was perfected. The way it is being used now is an abuse of that practice.

Thank you for addressing the real issue. The fact that the child inhabits the same body is the environment to which I referred in my previous post. If you have a few moments, I would be happy to explain what I meant more thoroughly:

The only differences between you (or me) and an unborn child is size, level of dependency, environment and development. We have never met face to face, but I'm sure it's safe to say that you are much smaller in size than Shaquille O'Neal. Are you of lesser value as a human being than he because you are smaller in size? Of course not. The level of dependency of an unborn child is great, but it will remain so for a very long time even after the child is born. My son is 20 years old. He is in the Army now, but he still lived with me at the ripe old age of 19 and his level of dependency was still fairly significant. My mother is wheelchair bound, diabetic with neuropathy and on dialysis 3 times a week. Her level of dependency is great because she needs and depends on her insulin and dialysis in order to live. Was my son less of a human being because his level of dependency on me was so vast? Is my mother worth less too because of her level of dependency? Is my son's life worth more than my mother's because her level of dependency is greater than my son's? I'm sure we will agree that the answer is no.

We have freedoms in this country about which people in other countries can only dream. One reason is because the founders of this country recognized that our rights come from our Creator. Most other countries do not recognize that truth, but the fact is that it is a truth whether they recognize it or not. You are of great value and of great worth because you were made in the image of God. If you move to a country that does not acknowledge that fact, do you become worth less as a human being? Your environment changed, but your worth did not. Why do we think that 6 inches, the average length of the birth canal, makes the difference in the child's worth as a human being? Then there is development. An infant is much less developed than a 3 year old; a 3 year old is much less developed than a 15 year old; a 15 year old is less developed than a 50 year old. If we continue to base our decisions of human worth on these factors, we will continue to have to argue whether or not we should have the 'choice' of euthanizing our elderly and disabled. Which is one of the arguments given during the debating of Roe v Wade. Scoffers, or supporters of abortion rights said that would never happen; and yet here we are...

We are facing the social battles in this country because we are devaluing life and have been doing so for 35 years. It has affected the way children value life, which explains that vast number of school shootings in this country and it has affected our treatment of the elderly and disabled as well. Making abortion illegal for convenience will force people to make better choices BEFORE the pregnancy which will hopefully make people realize once again how ALL life if precious and of great value.

http://www.aboutabortions.com/Confess.html