Abortion, In My Personal Opinion
Posted: Sunday, January 16, 2011
by Sydney Harrell
For the most part, I find the idea of abortion horrifying. In my own personal opinion, I think abortion should only be allowed if the pregnant woman has been raped, is impregnated by a relative, or the child has some sort of disease that will cause it pain all of it's life. Otherwise, the baby should be put up for adoption. Abortion is painless for the fetus, that's why it's illegal to have an abortion at a certain stage in the pregnancy. The baby's body has not been formed yet, it is simply that-a fetus.
In other words, I feel like abortion should be allowed, but only if it's TRULY necessary, such as when a child/woman is raped. A girl can become pregnant as soon as she has her period, and some of us (alot, actually) start our period as young as 8-9 years old. I do not think a child of this age should be put through pregnancy under any circumstances. But when a woman chooses to have sex with a man, knowing that she can become pregnant, she shouldn't just be able to have an abortion, in my opinion. She should put the child up for adoption. Of course, the most sensible solution to women who haven't been raped not requiring abortions is abstain from unprotected sex if you're not ready for a child.
It should be a woman's choice what she does with her child, but, abortion is killing, because you are taking away a potential life. But, we humans are gifted with common sense and discernment and the fact is, sometimes PAINLESS abortion is necessary. If it caused the fetus some horrible pain, then I would say that the woman should carry the fetus to full term regardless. But, as I said, abortions are performed before the fetus has even actually become a child, capable of experiencing pain.
I, myself, would not be able to have an abortion. But, if some monster raped me, and I became pregnant by him, I don't imagine I'd want to birth his child. So, I do not feel that women's right to have abortions should be taken away. Really consider what I just said, the horror of being raped by a man and becoming pregnant with his child.
You could put the child up for adoption, yes, but first you'd have to go through the nine month pregnancy, carrying a child you never wanted by a man whom you did not want to have sex with, and then the painful birth. No woman should be put through that.
And unfortunately, rape is very common, and even more rapes occur that aren't reported.
And, incestual rapes are horrifyingly common. I've known more than one girl that was raped by her father. In fact, I know one now. But she is 20 years old now and doesn't want to report it. It would be pointless for me to report it, because she would deny it to the authorities.
How do you know if a woman isn't lying about her rape, if she were to be allowed to have an abortion, were abortion only legal if the mother was raped? There's lie detectors, DNA testing, and rape kits. Though, rape kits only work if the woman reports her rape immediately.
The reason I wrote this article is, I know many people who don't consider these things and automatically think abortion should be made illegal. You can't simply make it illegal. Rape victims go through enough trauma already, without going through the trauma of carrying and birthing their rapists child. And, David Levitt's comment on my article also made me think about another reason abortion could be necessary in a situation-What if the pregnancy would endanger the woman's life? Should she simply kill herself to have the child? Of course not!
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More commentsVery poignant thoughts Sidney Harrell. You can edit that "adoption" error easily enough by viewing and editing your article and resubmitting, just thought I'd add that if you didn't already know. I could be mistaken but the "Abortion is painless for the child," statement in the first paragraph, I think might should have been fetus instead of child, as you went on in that sentence to explain that it was a fetus and not yet a child, if not, my bad, sorry to interfere.
Not being a woman I believe women are far better equipped and knowledgeable about when and when not an abortion should be allowed than I so I will defer my judgements, other than to say I agree with your sentiments but would also prefer to include if the mother's health or life was endangered by the pregnancy.
Wonderful article, and an issue that deserves a lot more discussion than to simply defer to any one organizations opinion on the matter. Good day.You are absolutely right, I should have said fetus in that paragraph and I should have added a woman's health being endangered by her pregnancy to the reasons abortion is necessary. Thanks for the comment and advice! I really appreciate it. And I'm glad you told me I could edit it as well, I'm new here, I had no idea.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
-Sydney
This of all subjects is a tough choice to make. I believe that if under circumstantial situations it may or may not be possible to committ such an act. It will remain a tough choice throughout our lifetime. Even the government can't quite answer this one with a straight answer.I agree, it's a hard decision to make under any circumstances. Maybe one day abortion will not be necessary at all.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Recently in Thailand, 2,000 aborted fetuses were found in a temple. It is suspected that the fetuses were the consequences of unlawful abortions plentiful in Bangkok, even though abortion is suppressed day in day out and illegal.
I am a Buddhist and Buddhists basically don’t have abortions because of their religious belief that rebirth consciousness enters the womb at conception.
But I also live in a country where individual freedoms and independence from overbearing government control are the bases of the constitution and our very fabric. Although I may personally believe one way or the other regarding abortion based upon my religious beliefs, of which there are many in the world (I would argue that no one can prove one is superior to another, they are all only conjecture and theory) I would, as an American, and a Buddhist, in no way force my personal beliefs or opinions on another who may believe differently than I do. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Buddhism is a very peaceful religion. I would not like to see a Buddhist government (or any other kind of religious government) Theocracy historically leads to narrowness, restriction of human rights, and violence.
The sanctity of life is an opinion. It is not a truth. We might make it a truth in our minds, but in the final analysis, it is only an opinion, a view, as are all religions no matter how vehemently one believes that their religion is the only true one.
Thailand has laws against abortions, but abortions happen probably as frequently as they happen anywhere else. If a woman is afraid to have a baby, doesn’t want the baby, can't afford the baby, and she has no other options, she will use a coat hanger.
With compassion toward all beings, I can’t say that a certain holy book, or a certain dogma should rule the world. Until we see the violence in our own lives (of course, many are saints already I assume!) how can we preach against violence. That would be hypocritical and disingenuous. The key is too look deeply in ones own heart and see if there is peace or conflict. Can the conflict ever abate by trying to change outside circumstances, or will the conflict finally abate when we understand ourselves internally and understand that we are all truly one?
From a proactive point of view, I would like to see the government offer free heath care and pre and post natal care to any pregnant woman who because of circumstances cannot or does not want to raise her child. Not only free health care, but free placement of the child in a good home. If people don’t want to give this kind of control to the government, then if one’s passion is strong enough, one should be a leader in making their church a place of sanctuary where the parishioners all donate money and advertise that anyone thinking about abortion should come to the church where all of their pre and post natal care will be taken care of, and the expenses of placing the baby in a good home will be taken care of by the parishioners.
Rather than criminalizing and traumatizing young girls who have not had much experience with this circumstance we call life, that can be so complicated, this seems to me a more compassionate and proactive way to go about abortion, both for the child and the mother. Also it is a way to put one’s money where one’s mouth is if one is passionately pro life, . . . and quit bitchin :) :).Amazing comment! Well written and thought provoking. I truly appreciate it. I agree with you completely. I would very much like to live in a world where abortion never even needed to be considered. I think your idea of the government offering more assistance with women who do not want to have their children is a fantastic idea. I feel like if women felt like they had a better chance of being able to support their children, they wouldn't have abortions as often. Young women often feel alone, shamed and unsupported in their pregnancies. But truly, I agree with you 100%. Thanks so much for the comment! I really respect your views.you go E,
my best,
sue
It is something of a myth that unborn children do not feel pain. It is more a matter of how old the child is when they are aborted. In the case of the horrific "partial birth abortion", in which the child is literally torn limb from limb, the child undoubtedly feels pain given that partial birth abortions are done in later stages of pregnancy. Here are some quotes on the issue of pain:
“At 20 weeks, the fetal brain has the full complement of brain cells present in adulthood, ready and waiting to receive pain signals from the body, and their electrical activity can be be recorded by standard electroencephalography (EEG)" – Dr. Paul Ranalli, neurologist, University of Toronto
An unborn child at 20 weeks gestation “is fully capable of experiencing pain... Without question, [abortion] is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant subjected to such a surgical procedure." – Robert J. White, MD., Ph.D. professor of neurosurgery, Case Western Reserve UniversityPossibly, but there are also doctors who say it is painless. Different doctors claim to different 'proof'. However, if it is true that after a certain period that abortions are legal to perform the child is capable of experiencing pain, then the simple solution is to make having an abortion after a certain period of gestation illegal.
Hi sydney,
this was a well written article, and the same thoughts i have had for years now.
you pretty well summed it up.
thanks for sharing and being brave enough to do so,
my best regards,
sue
Thanks, Sue! I appreciate it. Like I said, I wish abortion were never necessary, but sometimes it truly is. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I already commented on Greg's article stating that there should be proper counselling for a woman who decides to abort her baby. After looking into all the different reasons abortion should be allowed. Who knows what karma that soul in womb is paying for? :-) Intense thoughts presented. Very nice.
DM
Thanks for reading and commenting! I agree, when a woman aborts a child she should have counseling available, because I imagine it's a very hard decision to make.
The way people think about this depends on where they are standing in the picture- While the so-called pro-lifers, as tho anyone who believes differently is not pro-life, are probably going on the high plain of thinking- that for every baby not born, there is one less chance for a soul to be reborn into the world to resolve its karma.On the closer more personal plain of involvement- they have no idea how they would really feel about it if they were in the position that some women and girls are in- maybe they wouldn't be so much against it then?....it's easy to say that it should not be allowed, when it's not you. I think it should be illegle, with human allowances. There are some things in human life that cannot be adhered to strictly, to the letter of the law. Good interesting article Sidney- you're doing just great! A welcome addition to SW- Always- EllaThanks so much Ella! I truly appreciate the support. I feel the exact same way. Unless there's a HUGE reason, a truly serious reason, that it needs to be done, then it should be illegal.
Sydney, this subject is possibly one of the most difficult and scary to approach but you did it in a brave and well presented way. Thank you for sharing this article with us. I don't know exactly how old you are, I'm asuming you're very young, but you have the soul and wisdom of a very mature person. I enjoy reading your works. Linda
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