Well, I guess I have to write it. Seems that whenever I mention that I am an atheist, people seem to think that I like to kill babies. That couldn't be farther from the truth. There seems to be an unwarranted connection in many peoples minds between atheism and abortion.
First off, I believe that abortion should never be used as birth control. Abortion is expensive, and invasive. It puts the woman at risk. However, I do not understand why many pro-life Americans also are against contraception. If fewer women had unwanted pregnacies, wouldn't the rate of abortions go down as well? Here in Northern Arkansas, the rate of teenage pregnancy is fairly high, and most seem to come from religious families. I seriously doubt that very many of those unwanted pregnancies were because the condom broke. It was because the teens didn't use a condom at all. Many ministers in this area (including my father) also teach that contraception should be reserved for married couples only. Well, it's not married couples who are having most of the unwanted pregnancies. It's single women and teens.
Secondly, I believe that abortion should be used only in an emergency, when the womans life is in danger or in cases of rape. Then it should only be used as a last resort. In cases of rape, emergency contraception like Plan B, should be tried first. Then maybe the "morning after pill" should be used. I find the idea of a woman being forced to bear the child of her attacker, inhumane and insensitive. Also, abortion should be used only very early in the pregnancy. I find the idea of partial birth abortions horrifying.
In conclusion, I am against abortion being used as birth control. I believe it would be justified in very rare cases and only as a last resort.
So, there you have it.
PS:
Most married christian men I know are pro-life and would deny a woman abortion even in the case of a brutal rape. These men usually seem to think of the rape victim as that "other woman". Maybe she's a promiscuous single young adult. Usually, they'll imagine her as slutty, dressing provocitavly. There seems to be a strong "blame the victim" attitude with many of the men I've talked to. What they don't seem to realize is that anybody can be raped. Many rape victims are faithful married women. Should a husband force his wife to carry the child of her attacker? Could a truly loving husband do that? As a married man, I don't think I could do that to the woman I love more than anyone else.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I'm with you on this one.
A woman's body is her righ, and all that, but why the fuck cn't people use condoms, IUDs, the pill, morning after pill? Or vasectomy?
There are so many methods of contraception that abortion shouldn't be necessary as birth control.
We need better sex education, and women and girls need to be confident enough to be able to tell men/boys to fuck off if they won't wear a condom. And condoms need to be TOTALLY destigmatised so that no one freaks out if a woman has condoms in her purse, or a man has some in his wallet.
"Partial Birth Abortion" is a name coined by conservatives to help in the fight to outlaw abortion. What you should know is that Intact Dilation and Extraction is less than 1 percent of all abortions. (Wikipedia). In fact it is less than .2% of all abortions.
Additionally, it is extremely painful to the woman, requiring multiple days for it to occur. This is not something that people do as an "oopsie" type of thing.
If you'd like to read a little more about what it actually entails having to have a late-term abortion, you may want to look at the article: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/01/25/my_late_term_abortion/
~E.
Robert Madewell said:
"I seriously doubt that very many of those unwanted pregnancies were because the condom broke. It was because the teens didn't use a condom at all."
From Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood):
"Fifty-four percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant. Among those women, 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users report having used their method inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users report correct use."
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html
So many were using birth control and many weren't using it correctly. Even if more teens started using birth control, it doesn't look like it would make much difference.
E said:
"Intact Dilation and Extraction is less than 1 percent of all abortions. (Wikipedia). In fact it is less than .2% of all abortions."
That may be the case, but those .2% were still human beings. They weren't just numbers.
just for the record, i am a christian man, and i am not in favor of abortion for any reason. Not because I think the woman was permiscuous or anything, but simply because it's a miracle any baby lives the full term, and if God has allowed that to happen, then it is no accident that baby survived.
Post a Comment