With all the talk about abortion these days and all of these anti-choice bigots putting their feet in their mouths, I figured I'd state why I'm pro-choice.
Let me state the following: I'm pro-choice for the complete duration of pregnancy. I oppose any legislation restricting access to abortion, and that includes late-term/"partial birth" abortion. I've always been pro-choice, but my pro-choice views have evolved over the years to what they are today, and I have a number of reasons for this (not the least of which is my recent discovery and my recent embrace of the anti-natalist philosophy). Alas, here's why I stand where I do:
1) I'm MALE! I don't have the internal organs required to carry and pop out the little buggers, and as such, I don't think I have any say in whether or not a woman has an abortion. Women should have complete and total bodily autonomy without men interfering with that. Once men can carry a baby and give birth to it, then they can logically be anti-choice. Not until then though.
2) Every child should be wanted BY THEIR BIRTH PARENTS. I emphasize this because all too often people who are adopted as children get depressed knowing that their birth parents wanted nothing to do with them. Yes, that includes me. My biological father never wanted me (and truth be told neither did my mother, even though she sucked it up and raised me anyway), and it hurts. Adoption, though it sounds good on paper, causes all sorts of psychological harm to the adoptee. There are too many "what if's?" So for that reason, I don't really believe in adoption.
3) I'm non-religious. The only solid arguments I've ever heard in favor of anti-choice legislation are rooted in religion. Put it plainly, there are no non-religious and/or secular reasons in favor of anti-choice legislation.
4) It's better never to have been born. I've already argued this irrefutable fact countless times. With that, we can conclude that abortion is in fact the kindest choice you can make for every embryo. That way they don't have to experience the suffering that awaits them in an existence on earth.
5) Overpopulation. With the hundreds of millions of aborted fetuses worldwide, just think of how many more people we'd have today (and we already have way too many people on the face of the planet). Also keep in mind that population growth is exponential, so we'd have billions more than we'd have today if it weren't for abortion. Every additional person on the face of this planet is just one more person we have to compete with for land, jobs, resources, money, among other things. Yes, other people are nothing but competition to an individual and nothing else.
6) The notion of assigning equal value to all human beings is preposterous, at best. Sorry, but there are people on this planet who have more inherent worth and value than others. That's just the way it is. As a fetus is nothing more than a parasite feeding off of its host, it has little to no value whatsoever.
7) There are health risks associated with pregnancy. There's even a risk of death associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Whereas there are also risks associated with abortion, it is statistically safer than giving birth.
8) I've seen the effects of anti-choice legislation and they are not good. Abortion is officially illegal in 18 out of 31 states here in Mexico, though it's rarely enforced. Still, I've seen the effects of back-alley abortions with my own two eyes. This just proves to me that making abortion criminal doesn't make it go away, and it doesn't even reduce the number of abortion that take place, it just makes the abortions that do take place extremely dangerous.
It is for these reasons I'm pro-choice for the duration of pregnancy, from the moment of conception to the millisecond before live birth. Until then, a fetus is nothing but a parasite, and a parasite is only welcome in/on a host if the host says it is. And that's the bottom line.
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Comments (127)
for me, the bottom line is that no woman should be forced to be pregnant. considering how many health complications come with that (a woman is more likely to die in labor than from a botched abortion), i view it as immoral.
not to mention, most of what is required for a healthy pregnancy (no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, seeing a doctor, etc.) is done willingly by pregnant women. why should we expect a woman with an unwanted pregnancy to take care of the fetus? will we begin legislating these things as well?
i also value a thinking, physically independent human being over a clump of cells with no sentience.
Abortion actually helps decrease crime. Less unwanted babies, less people that grow up to become criminals. This is based purely on statistics.
I agree that pro-choice is the way to be. I am pro-choice. I may never get an abortion because I'm am personally unsure how I would feel about it. But, that being said, it is a choice I would make for myself and I believe that everyone is entitled to that choice.
The tricky road we go down when we make abortion illegal is where do we draw the line. Many people think abortion should be equal to murder. If a woman has a miscarriage, would this be murder? There are too many questions without answers. Plus, if someone really wants an abortion, then they will find a way to have one.
@Darla@lovelyish - You make a good point, and I think it's the most convincing. Notice how much crime has lowered in correlation with increased abortion rates, particularly in inner cities, where it is now more readily available for discounted rates (think planned parenthood). There is no coincidence that aborting a future thug is also aborting future crime.
Not all babies who are adopted are unwanted by their birth parents. Some want to take care of their child, but are unable to. They may not be able to financially, etc.
I use to always be pro life, always always . I thought it was wrong to MURDER a baby.
So now I am pro choice, however for myself I'm pro life. But I have no judgement on those who choose abortion.But then I realized through the elections how wrong it was for someone else to say you have to have this baby, no matter what. That's wrong.
I don't understand how anybody can support partial-birth abortions.
@Baseballchik138@xanga - dang, me either. that's just disturbing to think about. it's black and white for me. do it within the allotted time period, or commit to the responsibility of delivering the child.
@Baseballchik138@xanga - I used to not, but I've gotten even more pro-choice as I've gotten older, and especially so since embracing antinatalism, which is the philosophical position that assigns a negative value to birth. Basically antinatalism states that it is better never to have been born (because had you never been born you'd have never had to endure the suffering that you have endured in your life) and, as a natural consequence, that it is immoral to bring children into the world.
When I embraced antinatalism, I knew I had to relax on that part of my abortion stance to make it consistent with the goals of antinatalism. It's all about being logically consistent with my philosophical position on procreation. I believe it is our duty to prevent procreation and/or live birth at all costs, as to not subject a whole new generation of human beings to the pain and suffering that awaits them in a life on earth. Of course, if people did this, it would of course naturally result in the extinction of the human race, but that's the best possible thing that could happen to the human race, as the only way to end human pain and suffering for good would be for the human race to go extinct.
That was a long-winded defense of my position, but you get it. It's inconsistent to embrace the antinatalist philosophy yet reject choice at any time during pregnancy, given that live birth has an overall negative value.
@cook0129@xanga - Read my defense above.
@secretbeerreporter@xanga - I see exactly what you're saying, but are you just going along with the motions, or do you really agree deep down that partial-birth abortions are okay?
@cook0129@xanga - In all honesty, I don't really think there's much excuse for partial-birth abortion. I think the three months from conception to the close of the first trimester is, in all normal cases, more than enough time for a decision to be made. I say normal cases because often times the dad will walk out beyond that point, or some health problem directly related to the pregnancy will crop up later during the pregnancy. Except for in these cases, I don't really think there's an excuse for it.
That said, since I believe the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone is for them to be born, I see it as a lesser evil than live birth. Of course, once live birth occurs, it is an independent person, no longer a parasite, and therefore has a right to life. Splitting hairs? Perhaps, but I find it's the only way to be logically consistent with being an antinatalist.
@secretbeerreporter@xanga - Thank you for taking the time to explain yourself. Nice to see at least one person around here can be consistent with their views.
I'm pro choice because I'm a woman and I sure as hell wouldn't want someone to tell me what to do with my body. It's not my position to tell another woman what she should do or try to understand what her circumstances are.
I know you're a male, but this is to all the women out here: If you want to keep your baby, fine by me. If you want to put your baby up for adoption, fine by me. If you want an abortion, fine by me. I'm not telling you what to do. I'll listen to you and support you and try to sympathize with you.
Good Post! I myself am pro-choice also, reason being involved with medical science.
When an ovum (egg cell) is fertilized by a sperm cell, it becomes a zygote, which classifying in terms of biology, the zygote forms a parasitic relationship with the host, meaning that it does nothing beneficial for the host. This isn't me saying that abortion should be birth control, but that it should be legal and an open option. I'm from a little town called Ocala, in Florida, where people tote bibles and get the okay to protest the abortion clinic with images on posters that give me nightmares. I want to remind these individuals that I might be on my way to lunch. You wanna look at pictures of dead fetus? Fine, but don't show them to me. Long story short, I think that it should be legal and it should be illegal to protest OUTSIDE of these clinics, for the love of god, does HIPPA mean anything to anyone these days? I recall listening to one of m friends telling me that one of these Motherf***ers called her bed names for going in there. Your beliefs are yours and if someone else doesn't like it, tell them to piss off and mind their own business.
I agree with every reason you've given. I feel that politicians use their own personal emotions wayyy too much when making decisions for billions.. & it's ridiculous. Personally, I could never get an abortion. I would do everything possible to raise that baby, simply because abortion would not be the right option for me. But when my friend told me she was pregnant, we both agreed it was the best option for her. Emotionally, she simply wouldn't have been able to handle it, & she knew that.
Some babies just aren't meant to be born. But because they're cute & sweet, some people can't realize that.. at least until the story comes up on the news that child welfare removed a starving baby from the home of a couple crack addicts who just "didn't hear their baby crying"..
The idea of aborting a child makes me sick to my stomach, personally. BUT...I would never take that right away from someone else.
However, I can't support a partial birth abortion UNLESS the baby is a threat to the mothers life.
I have two children, and if I decided to have a third, and it came down to a life or death situation between the baby and myself....I would choose ME every time. I have a husband and two babies who need me. It would not be easy, but it would be the right choice.
@Baseballchik138@xanga - agreed, if you didn't want a baby you knew LONG before it started actually coming out of you. I am pro-choice, but partial birth abortion is just wrong and I can't imagine why any women choose to do this.
My sister got pregnant and 5 months later, her fiance cheated on her and left her stranded. That baby is a constant reminder of the pain she went through and how horrible the father is. I believe my sister would've been better off not having the baby at that point. I don't think a deadline should be put on abortions (besides birth, obviously) because so many things can change. Just giving a position on why someone might choose to have a later abortion.
@bombshell_couture@xanga - Again, I will direct you to my defense up above. It's bad but a lesser evil than being born. As an antinatalist I think the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone is to be born, because it's better to have never been born. Read above for more detail.
@dslkfjh983 - I just think that if a pregnancy is so far along that the baby could survive the birth, abortion should be illegal.
I agree with most of it except there are a good handful of children that were wanted that ended up in the system. Batman? His parents wanted him but he still ended up as an orphan, did he not? Lucky for him someone was there to step up and take care of him.
@secretbeerreporter@xanga - ideology is not a replacement for common sense and decency, ever
I am having an abortion within the next week.
Here are my reasons:
1. Although I do want the baby, the father, my parents and everyone in my life with the exception of one of my friends (who is in another state) do not approve of me giving birth to it. This being said, I would be supporting myself entirely without a job and then still have to figure out what I am doing with the child.
2. I am incredibly sick, was hospitalized and came very close to death. This is from being pregnant.
3. I have no health insurance to care for my pre-existing health conditions which I have been told will make the pregnancy an extreme risk to my life and the baby's life.
4. After an exam they discovered it is ectopic.
5. All in all, being pregnant has thus far sucked to the furthest degree and after this is over I am going to sew up my cervix and stick with cats.
@bombshell_couture@xanga - Screw so-called "decency." That never got anybody anywhere. I have no use for "decency" as you put it. Such a thing is worthless.
As for common sense, it's simple common sense that demonstrates why it's better to not be born. If you had never been born, you'd have never had to endure any of the suffering you've had to endure, right? Common sense.
I'd have much rather been partial-birth aborted than live born and had to deal with this hell hole called earth and this sucky thing called "life." It's by far the lesser evil. That's all there is to it. The single biggest mistake my mother ever made was bringing me into this world and I will forever resent her for it. It would have been much better to be aborted, and even late term, than to have been brought into the world.
I can't stand against late-term or partial-birth abortion and call myself an antinatalist. I just can't. I am an antinatalist first and foremost. Indirectly supporting partial-birth and/or late term abortion is a natural consequence of antinatalism. Period.
I am pro-WhatTheFuckMan'sRightIsItToTellAnyWomanWhatRightsSheHasToHerOwnBody?
I'm not anti-choice or pro-death. I feel the government shouldn't be touching this in the first place.
*points* YOU have the right to breathe.
^ Deserves a "What the fuck?" response.
I'm an individual, and naturally an individualist.
@secretbeerreporter@xanga - Don't try to justify your point of view if you would rather not have one. Have you ever not been born or not existed to know that it is in-fact better?
If you're so convinced that not existing is so much better, be a voice for all those who don't exist while doing everyone who does exist a favor and voice your opinion like someone who doesn't.
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."
We're talking about individuals here with individual decisions based on their individual circumstances, not statistics giving birth to statistics otherwise we could just abort mathematics instead of human lives based on popular sentiment.
@DrummingMediocrity@xanga -