Why I Can Never Be Pro-Choice

EpicDweeb

I'm going to sum this myTake up by saying that I'll be addressing each of my personal roadblocks that prevent me from accepting the Pro-Choice mindset as well as many sayings and slogans I find just... are wrong... or sometimes just absurd. Here we go.

"Pro-choice does not mean Pro-abortion!"

I've seen this one a lot on signs at protests and just as facebook posts with people trying to say they don't support abortion themselves but they think OTHER people should have the right to choose an abortion.

Why do I have a problem with this? Simple... you don't have to want to get an abortion yourself in order to be pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is the same as pro-abortion because it is a matter of supporting legislation that makes abortion easier, more accessible etc. You don't have to want it for yourself but if you're actively supporting legislation that supports abortion you are, in fact, pro-abortion. If you believe abortion is wrong for you but want other people to still have access to abortion you ARE pro-abortion.

Why I Can Never Be Pro-Choice

"It's none of my business"

I recently heard from a formerly pro-life friend that this is part of her reasoning for deciding to be pro-choice. She essentially said it's not her business because it's not her body etc. etc.

My problem:
I believe that, scientifically, a fetus meets all the qualifications of life and that life can be defined as human, moreover a human being that is NOT its mother.

Dictionary.com defines Murder as "the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another." If that fetus IS in fact human and IS in fact alive... then I believe it rightfully ought to be considered murder. The only problem being the "unlawful" aspect which it currently is not.

Reasonably speaking and using all strictly scientific definitions for life, abortion is killing a human being and I believe inherently that killing a human being is always wrong, the only exception being if the person has already violated the right to life that I believe all human beings possess.

I believe as a fellow human being it is my duty to preserve human life and protect others. No one can tell me whether or not a woman aborts is none-of-my business any-more than they can tell me stepping in to fight off a rapist was sticking my nose in where it didn't belong. I believe human life is inherently valuable. For this reason it must be preserved and no one... NO ONE... has the right to take it away.

"Banning abortions won't stop abortions, it will only stop safe and legal abortions."

In some ways I agree with this statement... but then the argument could be made that "banning guns won't stop gunmen and violent shootings, only our safety," or "banning murder won't stop murderers it will only stop safe murders," or "banning rape won't stop rapists" etc etc. The point is not to stop abortion completely. It never has been. It's been to acknowledge that abortion is the taking away of a human life without the right to do so. (Agian... the right no human being possess: to take the life of another human being.)

Should abortions be kept to continue allowing them to be held safety? No... in a perfect world there shouldn't be any aborting of babies. But just as laws against rape, murder, drugs, etc, do not stop horrible things, isn't any reason not to ban them or to call them what they are.

"Fetuses are basically just parasites"

My response to this ridiculous statement... SO WHAT?! You were just as much of a parasite at one time and it makes you no less human, heck some people live like parasites when they're 30 years old, they're no less human nor any less alive so this is a ridiculous argument no matter how scientifically accurate some may say it is.

I don't deny that the function of a baby in the womb isn't much different from biological parasites, but then... I'd argue babies remain this way as infants after being born as well requiring another person to care for them up to 24 months in order to have any hope of survival and yes it's still a biological thing. It's been shown that babies cannot survive without human interaction and care even when all their biologically needs have been addressed.

In summary... independence and the necessity of care from another being is not a measuring stick for the validity of life.

"My body my choice"

... Is it though?

Scientifically... No

Scientifically a baby is a separate entity from the mother defined by the unique combined DNA of both parents so no it isn't just your body.

Practically... No

There's a reason people get angry when a pregnant mom knowingly ingests drugs that could harm the baby in the womb or when she drinks alcohol while pregnant or goes skydiving while pregnant... people get upset when pregnant women do dangerous stuff because we know well and good that she has to be responsible for more than just herself.

But it's her body her choice right? No, because it isn't JUST her body and no one ever thinks this way about pregnancy until the matter of abortion is involved.

This video does an excellent job of addressing the "My Body My Choice" slogan and I think it's very worth the watch.

"What about rape and incest victims?"

What about them? I don't deny or doubt that there are women who have gone through horrendous trauma. I don't wish to belittle those women and I get that having a baby that's a constant reminder of their abuser due to resemblance or whatever else. I get that...

What I CAN'T comprehend is how abortion can be looked at as a valid solution. Believe it or not, if you don't want your baby going into foster care, they won't go into foster care. People are put on 5 year waiting lists... TO BE PUT ON WAITING LISTS TO ADOPT CHILDREN. I keep hearing the argument that the kids will all just go into the system. This is simply not true. If you don't want your baby going into the system there are MANY other adoption options including ones that let you meet the potential parents.

To put it simply... there are other options than baby murder. Rape is a horrible thing, no one denies that. Murder is also a horrible thing... so let's stop saying it's justified simply because it's a baby conceived by rape.

Fun Fact:

Only between 0.1 and 0.6% of abortions reported are given the reason of rape and only 0.01% is given the reason of incest. Thus... it seems absurd that we should base an entire law around it.

"Abortion can be a necessary evil if the pregnancy is putting the woman's life in danger."

This is incorrect. It is true that, if the pregnancy is putting the woman's life in danger the pregnancy must be terminated... that DOES NOT MEAN AN ABORTION IS NECESSARY. This would usually result in a Caesarean section being necessary as late term abortions involve procedures that take OVER A WEEK. If the woman's life is in serious danger due to the pregnancy, chances are the danger is immediate enough that an abortion would actually do nothing to help the mother's chances.

Basically... this is just plain not true.

"The baby would just end up in foster-care or be forced to live in poverty."

This is the kicker for me and the main reason I can never bring myself to be pro-choice. The mentality of pro-choice, in every one of its arguments, is that abortion is better than some alternative or other. Whether it be that it's better than the baby being born into poverty, or better than the baby needing to go into foster care, whether the arguments as to how bad foster care are happen to be true or not does not change the fact that these arguments claim it is better for the baby to die than to live a less than perfect life.

It's no one's right to make that choice on behalf of that unborn child. You don't get to say what's better than death because you do NOT know what's going to happen to the child. You might have a pretty good guess, but you don't get to take a life based on what you think will probably happen otherwise especially when "what will happen otherwise" is something like poverty, adoption, or going into the foster care system. That way of thinking communicates one thing to all those who have been adopted, who live in poverty, and who have had to go through the foster care system. This mentality tells all those kids and even adults/teens that "you would have been better off dead."

Further-more... no one knows what death is like... no one has lived to tell the tale shall we say. So you REALLY don't get to pretend you know death is better for the child when you don't even know what death really is.

"You don't get to have an opinion, you're a man."

Finally... the one I foresee composing most of the replies to this myTake. The good old "you're a man you don't get a say."

First off, stop treating men like they shouldn't be held accountable to fatherhood. When you say "you're a man you get no say" or "my body, my choice" you're telling men it's not their responsibility and you're fostering a mentality in men that it's women's responsibility to take care of the kids in whatever way they see fit, men are to have no part in it and are free from all obligations to care for the child.

That doesn't do you any favors and it gives men license not to care about about their kids resulting in a bunch of single mothers who have to scrape to get by or feel as though abortion is their only way out of a tough situation.

Secondly... you don't get to have an opinion, it's not your body. I know it's an old worn-out argument but no matter how long people refuse to listen it remains true. It's not just your body. It's the baby's body and life that are at stake here, NOT YOURS.

Third. You lose all right to an opinion when you start treating babies as less than human and acting with such arrogance as to think you deserve the right to kill your baby because it inconveniences you.

Fourth. When human lives are at stake, human beings are the ones who must stand up to protect and support each other. Men AND women. It's a matter of being human not a matter of whether you've got a vagina or not.

Finally:

To anyone who read this all the way through, thank you. I can only assume this myTake will come off as extremely harsh. I know most people don't agree with my thinking. If you feel personally attacked... that may or may not be a good thing. I don't mean to tell people they are terrible awful vile people for being pro-choice or even for having an abortion. Honestly I think the whole of humanity is just kind of messed up and we don't really value the things we ought to anymore and because of it... we do terrible things to each-other. Thank you again for reading it and I hope you have a blessed day.

Why I Can Never Be Pro-Choice
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