for many years now I have experienced what is called "cognitive dissonance" on the issue of abortion.
What this basically means is that you can hold two opposing beliefs at the same exact time. My two opposing beliefs are of course the issue of pro life and pro choice. I think valid arguments can be made for both sides.
Let me start with pro-life... There are a few fundamental things that I disagree with when people argue certain points against pro-life. I'll start with the one that bothers me the most
"You are a man and therefore do not have the right to have an opinion about what I do with my body"
I could not disagree with this statement more. Just because I am a man it does not mean that I do not have the right to speak out about social issues that I believe to be wrong. Let me make something clear, no man that is "pro-life" wants to take away anyone's rights... They simply believe that no one has the right to terminate a life. No man wants to tell you what to do with your body in any way shape or form, do what you want with YOUR body. We simply want to protect the human body growing inside of you which is a completely separate entity from the mother with a separate heartbeat and separate brain waves. Men that are pro choice believe that the only time the mothers rights trump the rights of the human growing inside of them is when it puts their ow life at risk. Other than that they would actually say they are pro choice, 4 choices to be exact those choices are:
1. Abstinence
2. Contraception
3. Adoption
4. Motherhood
Any other choice beyond those available options could be described as pro murder.
"Who Knows when life actually begins anyway"
This is actually a simple one to debunk. A quick google search would give you the answer. The scientific consensus for when life begins is at conception. As soon as a sperm cell fertilizes the female's egg.. life begins, a heart start to develop, brain waves are detected, all internal organs begin to form... there is a living human being growing inside of you.
"I am only pro-life once it becomes viable outside of the womb"
This particular argument never made much sense to me and the only reason for that is first of all, viability outside of the womb becomes earlier and earlier the more advanced we get with our technology. The earliest preterm birth was 128 days premature. The point being that our technology allows babies to live outside of the womb extremely early and as our technology gets better and better it will get earlier and earlier, so to me, this is no excuse to terminate a human life.
Another point to make against this argument is this, it actually doesn't matter if it is not viable yet... because you know it is going to be. If you had a friend in a coma and the doctors told you that he will absolutely without a doubt wake up in 5 months, would you still pull the plug?
probably not. So why do people use this argument against their unborn children, you know that they are going to be fully formed human beings yet you still feel it is ok to terminate their life.
"What about in the case of rape and incest?"
This was the argument I struggled with for a long time because of course, those two things are horrible. Then something dawned on me, something we were all taught as children that we seem to forget in this case. "Two wrongs don't make a right"
Of course it is absolutely horrendous when someone has to go through a rape or incestuous rape, especially when it results in a pregnancy... but is the answer to that to do something evil in return? Is the answer to murder the life inside of you? In this case I believe that the rapists shall be put in prison for life or put to death for their actions, however, do you really think the innocent life that resulted from such a horrible act deserves the same thing?
IN CLOSING
At the end of the day, the point is simply this: There is a human being growing inside of you, an alive human being. Why is it okay to terminate a life while it's inside the womb but if it's outside the womb it is first degree murder?
In this take I made many arguments for pro life, but remember at the beginning I said I believed two opposing ideas... yes, I also believe in pro choice as well. This is why I experience cognitive dissonance, because even though I believe in all the things I just laid out in front of you. At the same time, I do not know what the right thing to do is. Should we take the option away from women completely? I don't think so. Even though I believe it is wrong, I want women to have the choice and decide for themselves.
This is a tough issue because I feel like many men and women experience the same cognitive dissonance I experience, because well know that we all are here because we grew in our mother womb, & I think we all know it is wrong to terminate a life inside of the womb. But the question is, despite it being wrong, is it also wrong to take away that option from women?
I don't have the answer to that question. What are your thoughts?
Most Helpful Opinions