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Yeah, it's political. No, it's actually not a rant. Consider it a position paper, if you like, of my personal views on an issue which is not at all simple. In fact, I consider the entire idea to be one of the most complex moral problems on the modern landscape.
However, knowing that it's a sensitive subject for a lot of people, I cut. Read if you like, comment if you like. I'd be interested in hearing other people's opinions on the subject.
...what I mean by pro-choice is that I defend a woman's right to pursue a safe, legal abortion at any time, without having to ask anyone's permission, or undergo any sort of waiting period, 'options counseling', or registration. I believe that abortion services should be widely available, very affordable, and as confidential as we can possibly make them. That is my position.
This is my reasoning.
First, it should be noted that I do not 'like' abortion. There is no doubt that, in cases where the abortion is not considered medically necessary, the fetus the woman is carrying will, if left alone, become a human being. Whether it /is/, while in the womb, already to be considered a human being is largely a point I don't concern myself with. It's semantics, useful for legal wrangling and the attempt to either rile or surpress guilt over the action, but I don't believe there's a person out there who isn't aware that the aborted fetus was, in fact, a human in potentia who never got to be born. And I sure as hell don't think most of the women carrying that fetus don't realize that, and that the knowledge does not affect them.
So, some might say, you know full well that this is a little person, and yet you're saying that you support the right for a mother to kill them off whenever she likes...to put it in the most slanted way possible. To which, I say...yes. While it's in the womb, I support the right of a woman to terminate any pregnancy. I do not /like/ that option. I also support comprehensive sex education at every level of school, plentiful and low-priced (or free) birth control for anyone with no questions asked, and a system for adoptions that protects and facilitates birth parents, adoptive parents, and children. But I know that even if these options were all available and worked at the level that I would most prefer, there would always be situations where someone has an unwanted pregnancy and, for whatever reason, cannot or does not wish to carry it to term for adoption.
What do we do in those cases? When it comes down to it, there really are only two options at our present level of technology: you either force the mother to carry it to term, or you allow her to terminate. There are obvious problems with the first choice, practicality being the one that leaps to mind first. A woman cannot, without difficulty, be watched constantly. There will always be people who are willing to help her out with a coathanger, there are herbal mixes which may induce miscarriages, there's the abuse of alcohol, violence, drugs, and a variety of other ways to try and self-terminate a pregnancy. Most of these are significantly threatening to the woman, as well, but it hasn't stopped the really determined ones. And, I will ask, what does it say about a woman that she is willing to risk her own death in order to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy? You can argue from desperation, selfishness, or sheer panic, but either way you go, I have to wonder: Do I want a woman that desperate not to give birth to be forced to carry and raise a child? Will this person be a good parent? Is this person mentally, financially, and emotionally capable of raising a child?
What happens to the children that we would require to be born? The lucky ones, under my ideal system, would be adopted, assuming that all the family members involved treated the situation rationally. ...yeah, after you finish laughing, let's talk about the unlucky ones.
I strongly believe that parenthood is one of the most serious committments that anyone should make. It is not a 'rite of passage' or something that everyone should be doing to 'be an adult'. You're taking nearly full responsibilty for an undeveloped human being who, at various times, will be the most amazing and infuriating person that you've likely ever met. You are agreeing to feed them, clothe them, shelter them, teach them, protect them, monitor them, discipline them, socialize them, and love them for the rest of your natural life. To my mind, it should always be an informed, consensual decision, undertaken with--if not full understanding (does any non-parent really know what they're getting into?)--at least with enthusiastic optimism. I do not believe that an atmosphere of coercion can ever produce a good, loving parent, or that force is a good way to start this very intimate relationship between a parent and a child.
Children should not hear, "You were a mistake," or "I never wanted you in the first place." I believe that, as a society, we should do everything in our power to make sure that every birth is wanted, and I believe that free and full access to abortion services is an indispensible part (but not the ONLY part) of making that happen.
To condense that rambling screed down to a simple justification: I believe that the quality of life that comes after birth is, in the balance, more important that the protection of life within the womb. I do not want children born unwanted to parents who will neglect and abuse them, and I consider the fact that a mother is willing to terminate a pregnancy to be a pretty good indication that she should not be raising the child in question. It would be nice to say that all women and men would have access to and use birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place, but that's not going to happen, even if you were leaving free pills and condoms out on street corners. It would be nice to say that all pregnancies could be carried to term and unwanted babies adopted out in a completely confidential arrangement to a family who desperately wants them, but that's also not realistic (especially for minorities, when the majority of people wanting to adopt want caucasian babies). In order to protect both children and women, I believe that abortion is necessary to defend and support.
And before anyone asks: Yes, I fully support the right of any woman to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of what anyone else wishes her to do. I have never supported mandatory abortion policies, and I never will. I also fully support the right of a dam or sire of a pregnancy to terminate parental rights in a final, binding way with a written, legal contract. I do not support dams or sires who have terminated their rights in such a way in any attempt to later reclaim those rights, unless it can be proven that coercion or nonconsent was involved in signing the contract. Parenthood should be considered on basis of committment, not genetics.
One may notice that I do not address men's rights in this position paper. This is because men's rights do not change my basic position...I think that, as long as women are considered by society to have the burden of monitoring and using birth control, and considered to have the burden of parenting, women should have the final say in whether they, personally, will carry a pregnancy to term. As technology progresses, this will become a more complicated issue, but for now, I am firm.
However, knowing that it's a sensitive subject for a lot of people, I cut. Read if you like, comment if you like. I'd be interested in hearing other people's opinions on the subject.
...what I mean by pro-choice is that I defend a woman's right to pursue a safe, legal abortion at any time, without having to ask anyone's permission, or undergo any sort of waiting period, 'options counseling', or registration. I believe that abortion services should be widely available, very affordable, and as confidential as we can possibly make them. That is my position.
This is my reasoning.
First, it should be noted that I do not 'like' abortion. There is no doubt that, in cases where the abortion is not considered medically necessary, the fetus the woman is carrying will, if left alone, become a human being. Whether it /is/, while in the womb, already to be considered a human being is largely a point I don't concern myself with. It's semantics, useful for legal wrangling and the attempt to either rile or surpress guilt over the action, but I don't believe there's a person out there who isn't aware that the aborted fetus was, in fact, a human in potentia who never got to be born. And I sure as hell don't think most of the women carrying that fetus don't realize that, and that the knowledge does not affect them.
So, some might say, you know full well that this is a little person, and yet you're saying that you support the right for a mother to kill them off whenever she likes...to put it in the most slanted way possible. To which, I say...yes. While it's in the womb, I support the right of a woman to terminate any pregnancy. I do not /like/ that option. I also support comprehensive sex education at every level of school, plentiful and low-priced (or free) birth control for anyone with no questions asked, and a system for adoptions that protects and facilitates birth parents, adoptive parents, and children. But I know that even if these options were all available and worked at the level that I would most prefer, there would always be situations where someone has an unwanted pregnancy and, for whatever reason, cannot or does not wish to carry it to term for adoption.
What do we do in those cases? When it comes down to it, there really are only two options at our present level of technology: you either force the mother to carry it to term, or you allow her to terminate. There are obvious problems with the first choice, practicality being the one that leaps to mind first. A woman cannot, without difficulty, be watched constantly. There will always be people who are willing to help her out with a coathanger, there are herbal mixes which may induce miscarriages, there's the abuse of alcohol, violence, drugs, and a variety of other ways to try and self-terminate a pregnancy. Most of these are significantly threatening to the woman, as well, but it hasn't stopped the really determined ones. And, I will ask, what does it say about a woman that she is willing to risk her own death in order to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy? You can argue from desperation, selfishness, or sheer panic, but either way you go, I have to wonder: Do I want a woman that desperate not to give birth to be forced to carry and raise a child? Will this person be a good parent? Is this person mentally, financially, and emotionally capable of raising a child?
What happens to the children that we would require to be born? The lucky ones, under my ideal system, would be adopted, assuming that all the family members involved treated the situation rationally. ...yeah, after you finish laughing, let's talk about the unlucky ones.
I strongly believe that parenthood is one of the most serious committments that anyone should make. It is not a 'rite of passage' or something that everyone should be doing to 'be an adult'. You're taking nearly full responsibilty for an undeveloped human being who, at various times, will be the most amazing and infuriating person that you've likely ever met. You are agreeing to feed them, clothe them, shelter them, teach them, protect them, monitor them, discipline them, socialize them, and love them for the rest of your natural life. To my mind, it should always be an informed, consensual decision, undertaken with--if not full understanding (does any non-parent really know what they're getting into?)--at least with enthusiastic optimism. I do not believe that an atmosphere of coercion can ever produce a good, loving parent, or that force is a good way to start this very intimate relationship between a parent and a child.
Children should not hear, "You were a mistake," or "I never wanted you in the first place." I believe that, as a society, we should do everything in our power to make sure that every birth is wanted, and I believe that free and full access to abortion services is an indispensible part (but not the ONLY part) of making that happen.
To condense that rambling screed down to a simple justification: I believe that the quality of life that comes after birth is, in the balance, more important that the protection of life within the womb. I do not want children born unwanted to parents who will neglect and abuse them, and I consider the fact that a mother is willing to terminate a pregnancy to be a pretty good indication that she should not be raising the child in question. It would be nice to say that all women and men would have access to and use birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place, but that's not going to happen, even if you were leaving free pills and condoms out on street corners. It would be nice to say that all pregnancies could be carried to term and unwanted babies adopted out in a completely confidential arrangement to a family who desperately wants them, but that's also not realistic (especially for minorities, when the majority of people wanting to adopt want caucasian babies). In order to protect both children and women, I believe that abortion is necessary to defend and support.
And before anyone asks: Yes, I fully support the right of any woman to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of what anyone else wishes her to do. I have never supported mandatory abortion policies, and I never will. I also fully support the right of a dam or sire of a pregnancy to terminate parental rights in a final, binding way with a written, legal contract. I do not support dams or sires who have terminated their rights in such a way in any attempt to later reclaim those rights, unless it can be proven that coercion or nonconsent was involved in signing the contract. Parenthood should be considered on basis of committment, not genetics.
One may notice that I do not address men's rights in this position paper. This is because men's rights do not change my basic position...I think that, as long as women are considered by society to have the burden of monitoring and using birth control, and considered to have the burden of parenting, women should have the final say in whether they, personally, will carry a pregnancy to term. As technology progresses, this will become a more complicated issue, but for now, I am firm.
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From:
no subject
*duly thrashes you for the pun!*
As for male rights... that's touchy. I think that if a woman absolutely doesn't want a baby but the father does want the child -- and is willing to take sole custody -- then that should weigh heavily in her decision. Again, though, I can't find it in my heart to say that she has no choice, that she must bring the child to term. It's her body, not his.
That is one of the more complex parts about an already complex issue, I agree. I would hope, sincerely, that if a father wished to take sole and full parental responsibility for a child, that the woman would strongly consider carrying to term. However, I can see several reasons why she would not. The medical risks associated with pregnancy, the financial costs, and other issues. For example, I'm not sure that (in the US, at least) there is any absolute way to permanently terminate parental rights in such a way that guarantees that no one will ever hold you responsible for that child. If, for example, the father later decides he can't support the child, I do believe that he could sue for child support (even as a mother in the same position could). If the father dies, the mother is still legally next of kin, and there could be a lot of guilt and trauma associated with refusing that responsibility. Grandparents and other family members add additional complications...a lifetime of being called a 'bad mother' or being accused of 'abandoning' a child you never wanted in the first place could be more than they could take. And as the child ages, it may wish to establish a relationship with the mother that she doesn't want, and may not even be able to handle.
When they talk about those stories of adopted children who, as adults, spend years tracking down their birth mothers, we usually hear about the happy endings. But I have to wonder how many of those people actually hear, "Oh god, they told me no one would ever know," as the first thing out of their birth mother's mouth.