(no subject)

[pennywhistle]

I've been reading Stephen King's Insomnia, which besides dealing with the usual Stephen King creepiness, deals with the issue of abortion. It has compelled me to post my own point of view on the subject. I hope you can understand my feelings, even if they don't agree with yours.

I am in the Pro-Choice camp, but not without my doubts. Here are my thoughts:

PRO
Abortions need to remain legal so that they remain safe. Desperate women will continue to have abortions whether it is legal or not, that is a fact. Illegal abortions, either by coathanger, or performed by a doctor in an unsafe location such as the kitchen table, almost always lead to sterility, hemmorhage, and death. In that case, both the baby and the woman die. Or the woman has the baby in secret and dumps it in a trash can. Keeping abortion legal and safe keeps the woman safe.

CON
It IS a child, and it DOES die. Please don't think for a minute that that does not disturb me. It is a child, it would become a person. And it dies.

PRO
There IS a real overpopulation problem in the world. And while I'm not saying we should go kill people to solve the problem, the idea of bringing an unwanted child into the overcrowded world also frustrates me. As of 1998 there were 5.9 billion people in the world. The Earth simply cannot support this many humans. There are so many children who need to be adopted ALREADY, that adding another child to the welfare/adoption system is just another drain.

CON
On the other hand, I feel, who are we to play God? How can we say "You will live and you will die?" It is frightening.

These are the internal thoughts I struggle with. As I said, I am still in the Pro-Choice camp, but please do not presume that I am uncaring or unfeeling. I have weighed the pros and the cons, and am following what my heart says is right.

Whew, heavy entry. Sorry 'bout that.

Comments

[suraimu.livejournal.com]

Whether it's through war or abortion, we -do- play god, all the time, which is why I think we have the choice to say whether or not someone should be born or not. (When it's their child, that is.) It's not pleasant to even think about, but life isn't simple. It can't all be roses. Being an adult means that you have to make hard decisions, and not letting a person into this world because they would be completely miserable in it is one of them. The fact that pro-life people bomb abortion clinics and act totally immature is more proof of this, really.

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

I agree with your above reasoning. I'm pro-choice, with reservations. My biggest beef with rabid pro-lifers (note my use of "rabid" pro-lifers, to separate them from "all" pro-lifers), is that they're so overly concerned with *potential* people - people who aren't even born yet, and if they aren't born, they'll never know the difference. Why don't they worry more about the people who actually *exist* - the living, breathing, child, adult, and elderly poor. Don't we have enough of those people already who could benefit from our help without worrying about the ones who aren't even born yet? And furthermore, they're so quick to urge you to have your baby, have your baby, have your baby. But are *they* going to raise it for you? Grrr. I don't think I could have an abortion. If I got pregnant, I'd just have to *really* restructure my life. But I support the rights of other women to have them.

[teaandbitchery.livejournal.com]

The problem with bringing God into any logical discussion is that God can be used for either side, without fail. Because we can use the argument of "this is fate" or "God wills this to be done," we can do just about anything and justify it. That just doesn't work on a real level. You have to take out the concept of "God" in order to work with the really big issues on a society level. However, on an individual level, if you believe that your concept of God wouldn't want you to have an abortion, then don't. But it's definitely not for you and your god to decide what happens to other people.

(Short diversion: Ever notice that one of the 10 Commandments is "Thou shalt not worship any other gods before me?" Uh, guys, what other gods? If this is a monotheist religion, why the need to stick that in? If there aren't any other gods, why are you so concerned about us not worshipping them? Cause, it has to be a pretty big thing to hit the 10 Commandments of life. Just a thought.)

[mavra-chang.livejournal.com]

'Cause back in the Old Testiment days, God (aka Jehovah) WAS one of many gods. He also happened to be the god of the tribe of people who conquered everyone else so he became THE God... plus the fact that someone had the bright idea to say, "Hey. My God is so cool, He's an aspect of all the other gods. So, really, when I'm in someone else's city (ruled by their own personal tribal-city god), I'm really worshipping MY God. Neener neener neener!" Ever wonder why the Old Testiment God was such an asshole compared to the New Testiment God? Probably because Jehovah was the god of tribal war-like people, so their god also had to be patriarchal and war-like. So when Jesus came around he had to clue people in to the whole make love not war message....

[suraimu.livejournal.com]

Wasn't it George Carlin who said that the 10 commandments could logically be reduced to 2? :)

pro/con

[pixiepuff.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I feel, who are we to play God? How can we say "You will live and you will die?" It is frightening

I totally agree. I don't think it's something we should mess with at all. The part that bothers me is that we keep people alive who are meant to die. That, coupled with people who don't believe in abortion, means that we're getting deeper and deeper into overpopulation problems. I know it sounds weird because I don't believe in the death penalty, but I don't think we should keep people alive any longer than they would naturally be. It's easy for me to say that now because I don't have a parent dying of cancer or anything, you know? But something has to be done.

Also, WORD about abortion remaining legal and safe. Those pro-life people don't seem to give a flying fuck about women bleeding to death in sidestreets. :(

[nicci.livejournal.com]

personally, i find it interesting when, to borrow a term stated above, 'rabid pro-lifers' kill abortion doctors as they inform the world that killing is wrong. hmmm.

then again, these 'rabid pro-lifers' aren't really pro-lifers at all, are they? you can't be pro-life if you kill.

unfortunately there will always be loons who latch on to a cause or idea just to use it for their own ends. zealots come in all forms, and not all of them are zealots in the name of 'god'.

it's funny... sometimes the people yelling the loudest about 'god' forget the most important rule of most organized religions. love thy neighbor.

jesus was a hippie. peace and love, man.