So here I am again pontificating on the pro-life movement that seems to be gaining more ground and more advertising space. The current U.S Supreme court has several right wing members (particularly Scalia and Thomas) that would over turn Roe v. Wade whole hog in a heartbeat if permitted. Luckily they do have their left wing counterparts who are pro-choice (Stevens and Ginsburg). The right-wing is currently trying a "what about how the mother feels after an abortion?" tack. They claim that abortion is so traumatic for the woman that other alternatives should be explored.
Well, gentlemen (and the pro-life movement is predominantly men in Senate, ladies!) here's an alternate for you: The woman in question is 22, new grad, decent job. She's so busy that she had been so tired she fell asleep before taking her birth control at night a couple nights in a row. She sleeps with her boyfriend of two years. She becomes pregnant. He flips and bails saying his life can't go down like that (this is the option of all men, bail and they don't have to deal with it. Now have an opinion gentlemen). She doesn't want a baby period at this stage in her life never mind as a single mum but she decides to have the baby. She takes another job after the baby is born because $15/hour isn't cutting it. The kid grows up virtually without a mother since she works all the time. While her mother is at her night job, now 15 year old kid is hanging with friends, no one to check up on her. Drugs, sex, violence ensue. The kid has abandonment issues and a whole lot of insecurity that she tries to comfort in the arms of boys and mind altering substances. The story, as you can imagine does not continue well. But the mother took on her responsibilities, didn't abort a collection of cells and cause herself trauma. Instead the above scenario happened and now she has a traumatized 15 year old human, she herself is traumatized and anyone mixed up in the fall out. See my point? To spare a possible lifetime of hurt to a thinking, breathing and active human, doesn't the expulsion of a few cells and a few months of counselling seem to be the lesser of two evils? I'm not saying this happens to all single mothers and their children but the possibilities are much higher than the "conventional" way of having children.
I have seen a lot of parents who shouldn't be and their 'effed up kids. These kids become adults and take a whole lifetime of bad baggage with them. I have seen children born to parents who didn't want them develop diseases that are unheard of in the 21st century developed world through neglect and ignorance.
So my long winded point is, before casting a vote on what is traumatic to the mother and society as a whole, turn the situation over and examine every angle. Not ever child is blessed with fuzzy onesies and a good life and the life long damage that a less than loving upbringing can reap is no less than catastrophic.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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