Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned, and there are a lot of common misconceptions that muddy the waters surrounding the abortion debate. I’ll do my best to clear a few of them up.
Abortion is a difficult topic to talk about. Not so much because it’s such a personal issue – which it is and should by no means be celebrated as a women’s rights achievement – but because the issue is so ingrained in our culture as a women’s reproductive rights issue that anyone who disagrees with the national narrative is demonized as a misogynist.
I’m looking to clear up some of the muddy waters surrounding the abortion debate with the hopes that we can have an open and honest conversation on the subject without resulting in personal insults.
1.) You do not have to be a woman to have an opinion on abortion
Women often get infuriated when “men in Washington” attempt to legislate on their bodies. As a lover of liberty, that idea infuriates me as well. I would never condone the federal government's authority to tell us what we can and cannot do with our bodies. That’s why I was opposed to vaccine mandates and mask requirements during the height of the pandemic and am an advocate for legalizing federally prohibited substances – we’ll touch on that subject more later.
However, when I look into the mirror, I see a grown, 30-year-old man who is in no way an extension of my mother’s body. While that’s where I grew and was cared for before I was born, you cannot reasonably argue that a fetus is just another part of a woman’s body.
Women are responsible for creating man and woman, Democrats and Republicans, atheists and believers. Without women, we wouldn’t have mankind, but that doesn’t authorize the sex to pick and choose who makes it out alive. Therefore, I believe that it is rational for people to conclude that abortion is not strictly an issue that should only be legislated on by women. That idea, to me, is absolutely absurd.
2.) You do not have to be religious to be Pro-Life
As a nonbeliever, I always find it amusing when I am accused of forcing my religion onto others when I argue in favor of defending the lives of the unborn. You do not have to be of religion to have morals. It’s a common misconception that atheists are hedonists who lack any ethical code. Not believing in God does not equate to lacking morality, contrary to popular belief.
For example, I don’t think you would need to be a believer to know that you cannot shake an infant to death because they won’t stop crying. While the crying may be irritating and inconvenient, we all would universally agree that that’s murder, and murder is unethical.
Pro-Lifers believe that life begins in the womb. While some believe life starts at conception and others believe that life begins when the heart starts beating, they do not recognize birth as the starting point of human life. Therefore, drawing this line would make any pro-lifer agree that abortion at some point during the pregnancy is considered murder.
Pro-Choicers, on the other hand, believe that life begins in the delivery room. If the mother has decided to carry the baby to term, that baby’s life becomes valuable the moment he or she is born. Therefore, pro-choicers agree that taking the life of a newborn baby prematurely is considered murder.
We’re all pro-life. We just disagree on where life begins.
4.) Abortion is not protected by the Constitution, regardless of what Bernie Sanders tells you on the campaign trail
There is no mention of abortion in the United States Constitution. There are 4,440 words in the document – you should read it sometime – and none of them guarantee a woman’s right to prematurely terminate a pregnancy.
The federal government has an enumerated set of powers and in those powers is the responsibility to protect life and liberty. If elected leaders believe that life begins in the womb, then they have a legal obligation to hold those committing murders accountable.
Murder is the ultimate threat to our liberty. We cannot live freely if we cannot live at all. Even some of America’s worst criminals never receive the death penalty, because we as a people haven’t even universally agreed on whether death is a moral form of punishment.
5.) Abortion is not a safe form of health care
Many women who have had abortions earlier in life struggle to have a child later in life due to the damage caused to their bodies during the procedure. I’ll concede that the current practice is much safer than a do-it-yourself approach, but that is far from concluding that abortions are safe.
Furthermore, women who have abortions often regret their decision, which leads to mental health issues like depression and anxiety later in life. No prescription medication or therapist is capable of bringing an unborn baby back after its termination, and women are often too young when they decide to have their first abortion.
Lastly, if the fetus is a human life, then abortion is not a safe form of health care because it nearly always results in the death of an unborn baby.
We need to start having a serious discussion surrounding abortion. Now that Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned, the issue will return back to the states to decide, making state elections even more important.
There are plenty of logical explanations as to why pro-lifers want to ban abortion, and why pro-choicers want to keep the option available to women, but there is only one right answer.
If the fetus is human life at conception, then abortion is murder. If the fetus is a human life once the heart starts beating, the abortion is murder after 5-6 weeks. If the fetus is not human life, then the government is overreaching its enumerated powers when eliminating a woman’s right to choose.
Either way, we haven’t had a serious discussion surrounding abortion in a long time, and it’s time we talked. We cannot keep resorting to nasty personal insults if we ever want to draw a logical conclusion. We need to listen to the research, decide what qualifies as human life and base our laws on facts rather than how people feel about the topic.
We may be participating in one of the world’s largest genocides, and it was protected by the Supreme Court’s decision in 1974.
Did you enjoy this article? Show your support for the principles of free speech and stand with Freedom Writers by signing our petition today: https://bit.ly/35bF6th
- Chadwick Paul
Comments