Posted by
An Independent Mind on Friday, January 22, 2010 11:16:51 AM
You Conservatives are going to hate this post . I support a woman's choice to terminate a pregnancy . Does that make me a "baby-killer ? Hardly. I've never tried to force a woman to have an abortion , nor do I want the government to force women to do this. I also have absolutely no control as an individual person over abortion. I can't stop them, and neither can any one else.
I'm not "pro-abortion";just as those who oppose abortion aren't "pro-life". They're anti-choice.
Let's face it; abortions will happen whether they are legal or not, and there is absolutely no way around this fact. They will find a way. And if they are too poor to afford an illegal abortion, they will try to to abort themselves, with the inevitable catastrophic results to them and their families.
No government has ever been able to stop abortion by making it illegal, or ever will. There is simply no way to enforce laws against it , and attempts to do so are not only futile but cause an egregious violation of many people's privacy, not only pregnant women.
Yes, not all women who have abortions are poor, but most are. If we want to do something about the problem of abortion, we must decrease poverty and provide much more help for poor pregnant women so that they will be able to provide decent food,shelter,clothing,education and medical care for their children ,born or unborn. You cannot stop abortion merely by making it illegal. Poor pregnant women don't care whether their fetuses are a "person" or "alive" or "wehen life begins". The are immaterial and irrelevant.
But conservatives don't want the government to subsidize poor pregnant women,or the poor in general. That's socialism, and we don't want that here,do we? And these poor deluded people expect poor women to give birth to children anyway? Some nerve!
What hypocrisy! Of course, they glibly advocate making abortion illegal by saying that poor women can always give children up for adoption, and that helping the poor is the job of the private sector and charities.
But these are nothing but band-aids on severe flesh wounds. They don't and won't work.
Charities are a good thing, but they can't possibly provide help for all those in need. The government has to do SOMETHING, or many people will suffer terribly. What good is it bringing poor,unwanted children into the world if they are doomed to abject poverty, malnutriotion, poor education,lack of opportunity , and crime,drugs and violence?
This does nothing but increase poverty,unemployment and crime,and a vicious cycle of more poverty,crime,unemployment,
abortions, and teenage pregnancies. Conservative solutions to abortion just don't work. In fact, they are extremely counterproductive. And those who not only oppose abortion but want to make contraception illegal are imbeciles ! This would only INCREASE abortions greatly and create a black market in contraceptives.
Take Brazil, for example. This is the world's largest Catholic nation, and abortion is officially illegal here. Yet,every year, far more abortions take place here than in the US. That's right. Countries where abortion is illegal have far more abortions that those which permit it.
But consider the prosperous nations of Europe such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland,the Netherlands, Belgium,Austria and the Scandinavian countries. They have the world's LOWEST abortion rates. Why? Because there is little poverty here, and the government provies a secure safety net for people.
And if abortion becomes illegal again in America, how will the government enforce the law? How will we stop women from going to dangerous back-alley abortionists? And how will we stop women who can afford it from going to Europe or elsewhere for safe,legal abortions? Will we put up blockades at every border and airport and examine every woman of childbearing age for pregnancy ?
And how will we stop the poorest women from attempting self-induced abortions? Put up surveillance cameras everywhere and arrest,prosecute, and imprison any woman who attempts this? What are we, Orwell's 1984 ? I thought America was supposed to be a "free" nation.
And will the government appoint thousands of anti-abortion agents and have them scour every corner of the 50 states 24/7 ?
Was America ever intended to be a police state ? WeMUST do something about the deplorable abortion situation in America.
But what conservatives advocate is not the way to deal with this issue. Reversing Roe v Wade will not"protect" the unborn, nor will it bring progress of any kind to America. It will be catastrophic for countless poor women and their families, and society in general.