The pro-life cause has recently seen victories in several areas:
1. Litigation
2. Science
3. Public Opinion
1. Litigation
Two laws will soon take effect: the Women's Health Protection Act and the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The first law requires women who want an abortion to be screened for mental wellness and make sure they are not being pressured into an abortion. It also allows women who develop mental/emotional issues after an abortion to file civil lawsuits against abortion clinics that did not do proper pre-screenings. This defeats the idea that an abortion has "positive" effects in its aftermath, as Planned Parenthood suggests. The second law makes it illegal for an abortion to be performed after 20 weeks.
2. Science
The pro-life fight has typically been associated with the religious right, and has typically only been justified for moral reasons. But now scientific research has shown that science does play a role in the pro-life argument, which is why the two laws aforementioned were passed. Science has proven that women do suffer physical and psychological effects post-abortion. It has also proven that it is not WHAT you are aborting, but WHO you are aborting - and that baby can feel pain. The second law recognizes that babies can develop pain receptors as early as 20 weeks.
3. Public Opinion
Finally, abortions are becoming less and less popular. According to a recent Gallup poll, 51% of Americans call themselves "pro-life" - compared to only 33% in 1995. Abortions have also decreased by 25% and 87% of our nation's counties do NOT have abortion facilities. It is clear that the public has strongly responded to the new findings that a fetus can feel pain and a woman can suffer from the loss of an unborn child.
I would really encourage you to read this article - which describes these latest victories in further detail. But if you read any part of the article, I think the part that had the most profound effect on me is where it describes how an abortion is performed:
"There is no doubt that abortion can be painful. A dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion, used from 13 weeks to 24 weeks, involves using forceps to pull the baby into pieces. A saline abortion, the most common technique after 16 weeks, involves injecting a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby then swallows, and is poisoned by, the fluid, which also burns off the outer layer of the baby's skin. Labor begins within 24 hours, and the mother delivers a dead baby."
After reading that, I hope everyone gives abortion a second thought.
And that's my two cents.
Hey alicia! I'm reading your blog, because you posted it on facebook.
ReplyDeleteAs an alternating opinion, I think that certainly abortion would truly be a last option for someone who is in a truly awful and sad situation, but my problem with the whole debate is really focused on the impact of our culture. Pro-life groups do nothing to change the fact that a single girl walking around a college campus is considered a slut and is wearing her shame public for the world (which they may argue she deserves), but does anyone deserve that when they could easily have an abortion and no one would ever know about her moral decisions? Also, not all abortions are like the ones you've described, the earliest type, is simply taking a pill, and can be taken in the first few months. Early abortions are safe for the women, and when the time is right she can create a baby under circumstances a child will thrive under.
Some women need abortion so they can live their lives and move on from bad situations and in my mind I see it as the choice between one death or two deaths, and I think that barring abortion point blank would be twice the tragedy. If people want abortion rates to drop, they should be the first ones to pass out condoms, the day after pill, birth control pills, and any other preventive method.
I think a key focus here that is being missed in this comment above me is the concept of precious human life versus worthless human life. By accepting abortion because a girl would be "shamed" is like saying that it is RIGHT and HONORABLE to kill an infant because of someone else's embarrassment. Secondly, since when is a new life being born into the world ANY reason to be "shamed"? A new life is a celebration and I know many people who have been through the exact circumstance that you are proposing and saw it as so much more of a joy to present a new life to the world! It is such a precious gift that women have received. Why should there ever be shame for it????
ReplyDeleteAlso, if a mother is so concerned about her appearance, adoption is such a joyous gift to so many other couples that cannot have the same gift of life on their own!
The thing that is so disappointing is that Americans have lost our joy of a human life and are now seeing it as a potential negative. I do not think that the many men and women that fought to make America more unique than any other country would have fought as hard if they viewed human life through current eyes. We were unique because we were founded on the idea of the liberty of life.
I agree that it is a hard line for a woman who becomes pregnant, but it is just wrong to say that it is ever a "bad situation." Since when is a new life a "bad situation"?
Another HUGE consequence to abortion that pro-choice groups fail to show is the affect that an abortion has on the mental and emotional health of a woman. If we are fighting for women's rights, then let's fight together for a BETTER solution for a woman then one that will leave her feeling guilty, sick, and depressed because she feels the weight of aborting her child, which goes against every maternal instinct that every female has. The innate sense to protect her offspring regardless of the situation... I don't even have children, but I have already felt that feeling because women all have it. The shame many women feel after abortions is just as harmful to her as the "shame" she will temporarily feel when she is pregnant walking down the lawn at her college, however, this shame is permanent and damaging. Not to mention, that even with medical technology, abortions CAN hurt the woman similarly to types of miscarriages.
Also, obviously, birth control methods are practically thrown at women, especially on a college campus like the one in the example. But we can all agree that "slip ups" can be so easy and fast that birth control is rarely ever in the back of people's minds. There is also a moral reason why many pro-lifers chose to not pass out condoms, such as abstinence, which, I promise you, is still a common concept regardless of what media and stimulated college kids may say! Also, I can list the many many reasons why oral contraceptives are dangerous and can cause more reason for women to have issues more than pregnancy ever could from issues like blood clots to liver failure and even death! (from life experience, trust me on this)
As much as a care about the women... why have we come into a decade where we refuse to face the consequences of our actions? There was a time and place where consequences were considered a positive thing that can be used to grow and mature you. I know many who still hold onto this standard. Are we so scared of our consequences that we are willing to refuse LIFE to cover our actions?
PS. Alicia, this is an awesome informative blog! keep it up babe <3 never be afraid to stand up against what you know is not truth
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!
ReplyDelete