|
I have been thinking about this much of the day and, while I've stated many times that I'm pro-choice on this board, I want us to think about the logistics of making abortion illegal. Many have mentioned that abortions happened before it was legal and it was horrendous, but let's think about other logistics.
It seems that most agree that in the case of rape or incest it might be ok to be legal. So, if we are in a situation where it's illegal EXCEPT for cases of rape or incest, how do we define these things? Does there have to be a rape conviction before the woman is allowed to abort? Do we use an honor system? Will this increase false rape reports by women who are desperate to get an abortion? Do we include all victims of statuatory rape, so all teens would still be able to get abortions? How do we prove incest? Do we do DNA samples on the fetus before the abortion to be sure? Watch Maury's "Who's the daddy" shows and you'll see how hard it is to prove who the daddy is sometimes. Most also agree that if the life of the mother is in danger, it is ok to abort the fetus.
Then, how far do we take this? If a woman deliberately does things that might induce a spontaneous abortion, such as heavy lifting, not staying on bed rest if it's recommended, etc, do we charge her then? What if she continues to smoke, drink or take medications that could be known to harm a fetus? Do we prosecute her then? What if she has a medical condition that isn't completely life threatening, but only life altering and her meds can seriously damage the fetus but if she doesn't take them, then it can also be damaging to the fetus AND herself? Who decides if it is medically necessarily? The doctor who performs the abortion? Another doctor? What if she spontaneously aborts because of things she does BEFORE she knows she is pregnant? What if she gets pregnant while on the pill and continues taking the pill after she knows she is pregnant and the fetus dies? Who do we prosecute for the abortions? The doctor? The nurse? The woman seeking the abortion? Do we toss a 13 year old kid into prison for seeking a back alley abortion?
It was those types of questions that were in the original Roe v. Wade complaint.
I can honestly say that I have several friends who have had abortions who do not regret it at all. Most of them are happily married now with children who they love very much because they had them when they were emotionally, physically and financially ready to have them. One of them is a divorced single mom who didn't have the financial resources to go through a high risk pregnancy since she has two teenagers to support. I have worked with numerous mentally ill teens who have had abortions and I can honestly say that carrying a pregnancy to full term would not have been mentally healthy for them. I'm not sure who made the comment that a pregnancy is a 9 month inconvenience, but I don't think that person is a mother. A pregnancy is a lifetime commitment for a mother.
The primary reason that I am pro-choice is because I don't feel that I can make that type of decision for someone else without walking in their shoes. (I also have thoughts about when life begins.. and it's not at conception). If abortion is illegal, then it follows that since abstinence is the only way to ensure that you do not get pregnant, then if you aren't physically, emotionally and financially capable of having a child, then you shouldn't have sex. I don't see that happening in our society, nor do I think it's fair to expect that.
Dee
|