I have a question for you: What if you could choose again?
If you had an abortion, what factors (changes in circumstance, additional support, etc) would have helped you choose to continue your pregnancy?
If you chose to continue your pregnancy, what factors helped you make that choice?
One commenter on my earlier post suggested that true compassion for women facing an unplanned pregnancy might include increased public assistance dollars. Another proposed comprehensive sex education plus expanded access to birth control (taxpayer funded?) as a solution.
It would seem that the most likely points of agreement between pro-life and pro-choice partisans are that
1 – reducing unplanned pregnancy is a good thing
2 – our society is not giving women the support they need to choose life over abortion
I believe every person conceived has an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe those rights are endowed by our Creator and that they should be secured in law, such that they cannot be abridged without due process of law.
A lot of you will disagree with me about that. But what about this: abortion should be safe, legal and NEVER?
“There is no reason why government cannot do more to educate and inform and provide assistance so that the choice guaranteed under our constitution either does not ever have to be exercised or only in very rare circumstances.”
Guess who said that? None other than Sen. Hillary Clinton.
My guess is that preborn humans won’t be adequately protected by law in the near future. So, what about Sen. Clinton’s approach?
Here is the common ground question: what would make abortion more rare?
Since we can debate approaches to sex education until the cows come home and since we all agree that reducing unplanned pregnancy is a good goal, let’s just discuss what can be done to help ensure that no woman feels forced to choose between her child and her future. What should individuals do? what should the non-profit sector do? what is the role of business? what can / should government do?
To get us thinking, we might consider how Dr. Alveda King talks about her abortion experience (one chosen; one not), quoting her uncle:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s honest confession was echoed by dozens of women who told their own abortion stories in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building today, as part of the annual March for Life.
What’s your experience? Has abortion touched your life? Have you lost a child? a sibling? a niece or nephew? How did your abortion (or your girlfriend / wife’s abortion) affect you?
Commenters, please be kind, gentle and respectful as you interact on this sensitive topic.
