After giving some thought to the abortion issue, I’ve come to the conclusion that neither pro-life nor pro-choice are correct. (And the first person to bring God into this argument will be severely antagonized because that’s not what I’m talking about today).
As with all issues, there are often groups of extremists. Abortion, however, seems to be an especially polarizing issue, causing most people to have extreme opinions in either direction. On one hand, there are those who would ban abortion outright without any exception. On the other hand, there are those who would legalize abortion of all forms, again without exception.
Is there a middle-ground? Can our differences be reconciled? The answer is, quite simply, no. There will be no peace, no compromise, and certainly no conclusion to this debate. Having made every attempt not to be entirely one-sided about this issue, I earnestly believe that the inability to compromise comes from the “pro-life” groups who seek to eliminate abortion without or with little exception. At the moment, the fight has come to those who are “pro-choice” to keep the laws the way they are.
Yes, there are very many arguments both for and against abortion. On the pro-abortion side, there are items like rape, the health of the mother and child, the financial cost of pregnancy, the state of the adoption system, etc. Contrastingly, abortion is often said to be murder, though this would obviously depend on one’s definition of what constitutes a human life.
I lump myself in with the “pro-choice” crowd, and I have several reasons. First, although I do not believe all abortion is murder, I absolutely do not believe that abortion is an acceptable means of birth control. Second, I believe that abortion must remain legal. In the event that abortion is banned, it will become a black market trade and will kill hundreds or thousands every year due to unsanitary conditions, untrained physicians, and medical malpractice. The worst part: standard health care plans usually don’t cover black market treatment options. I am “pro-choice” because I believe that some abortions are pointedly necessary.
Take it a step further, banning abortion will cause an increase in our birthrate. We have already overpopulated this planet, and our numbers are far from decreasing [http://www.cosmosmith.com/human_population_crisis.htm]. There are children across the globe who die from starvation, dehydration or lack of shelter every day. Why are their lives less important than that of an unborn fetus? If you call abortion murder, you must call your own inaction murder. Call abortion murder, and you may as well equivocate condoms with assault rifles.
It doesn’t matter how you look at it. Ban abortion and people will die. Do nothing and fetuses (people?) will die. If a woman wants an abortion that badly, she will get one whether it’s legal or not. It doesn’t matter if God says “thou shalt not kill.” People kill anyway. It doesn’t matter if God says “thou shalt not steal.” People steal anyway. Murder is illegal, and people still do it. Banning abortion might stop some, but it won’t stop everyone. The lives that may be saved by a ban on abortion will undoubtedly be outweighed by the number of lives lost or destroyed.
