Today marks the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the legalization of abortion in the United States. The country will be subject to demonstrations, articles, pictures, protests and political statements from either sides as to the victimization or the rights of women and how those apply in this circumstance. The debate has polarized the country in the last 36 years in a way that no other issue has. There are very few who have no opinion on the abortion issue. Even fewer actually want more abortions or think that abortion is good. I cannot for the life of me think that there is a woman or a man somewhere that is eagerly anticipating when they might procure one.
That can be missed in the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate today. Each side looks at the other with the righteous anger of one defending the value at their core; each thinking he is defending life; each thinking he is fighting for a just cause and a better world.
I would like to suggest, humbly, a different approach.
The Bandage. This approach fights against making abortion as easy to come by as possible. Most “pro-lifers” fit into this mold. They would like to see abortions made illegal on all levels. A recognition of the human person as viable at the moment of conception, the unification of the sperm and ovum. This includes chemical abortions caused by the pill and RU-486 or the “morning after pill.”
The benefit of this side is that it takes a situation where someone might get an abortion against her better judgment, in a moment of haste, when all seems lost, and gives her time to get perspective, to realize that there are resources that can help and that there are consequences to abortion that go beyond just ending a human being’s life. Those consequences are felt by both the mother and the father. Those consequences are felt by a society that misses out on the benefit of that person and her contribution to society, no matter how small.
This would also end the practice of “elective abortion” where a genetic test which leads to the “chance” of a child having Down’s Syndrome, Autism, or any kind of disability is aborted, rather than face the challenges that come with caring for an individual with these qualities.
The Wound. I believe in my heart that most Americans and indeed most people support this side, even those who would call themselves “pro-choice.” This side believes that it is a terrible thing that a woman is put in the position where she feels that abortion is even an option. This is a problem with society.
Why does a woman feel that she cannot raise a child or carry a child to term? She does not feel supported by the father? She doesn’t feel she can trust her own family? She doesn’t feel that she will be supported in her decision? She doesn’t feel that she has the means to take care of a child; to take care of a child with special needs, whatever those may be? She does not see the contribution that the child will make in the world?
Unless we can answer these questions in our society, abortion, whether legal or illegal, will not go away. It may be more difficult, but if one calls himself “pro-life” then making abortion more difficult to obtain is not good enough. If one is “pro-choice” then a world where a woman feels that she has only one choice is not good enough.
We need to change the bandage and treat the wound. Do we act in a pro-life and pro-choice manner in our lives? Do we live our lives in a way that supports human life and offers options?
Are we living our lives in a way that would put a woman in a position where she would feel she would have to have an abortion because she feels unsupported, where she doesn’t feel she has any options?
If a woman truly has options, and those options are supportive, encouraging, caring, and pro-life, then we will see an end to abortion. Abortion, legal or illegal, will simply cease to be sought. It is a perfect ideal, but we need to fight for a world where men do not leave pregnant women unsupported because they are married to them.
We need to fight for a world where we treat others in such a way that our respect for their sexuality respects the fact that it can bring forth life, so engaging that sexuality is to embrace that responsibility. We cannot be irresponsible with our sexuality and expect to support its natural consequence: human life. We must either respect both, or disrespect both.
I am pro-choice. I choose to respect human life at all of its stages. I choose to do everything I can to change the bandage and the wound.
As an American born in 1973, 10 months after Roe v. Wade, I am pro-life.
I want abortion to be illegal. Completely and totally illegal.
I want abortion to be unneeded because every mother-to-be in our society feels the love, support, and protection they need to bring a new life into the world.
That way the choice will no longer be about if a child should live. The choice will be the type of life we want for our children.
