Let me just say at the outset, that what the politicians in U.S are doing is administrative overreach. A decision that should ideally be left to the couple or the individual who is affected by it, has been hijacked by the state. And this is a systemic problem, stemming from a gaping disconnect between the people and their representatives. This disconnect is the sole reason why the common people of Britain were asked to choose 'yes' or 'no' to a complex question with inter-national ramifications, while US politicians decided to make a simple life altering personal decision for you. Brexit should have been left to politicians, and abortion should have been left to individuals. Every case of abortion is different from the other. The circumstances leading up to it and the mental preparedness of the people involved are so different that a blanket decision is simply not possible. The politicians who claim they are pro-life are simply hiding behind a mask of misogyny. It's difficult to accept that Trump and his hardcore Republican followers care more for unborn babies and foetuses, than living breathing people who try to buy into the American dream.
This does not however mean that the pro-life agenda is wrong. In fact, in its unadulterated form, the idea is commendable. Giving value to an unborn life is important, as it does not have any advocates for itself. God has given no voice to unborn life-forms, maybe under the assumption that their parents would value its life over anything else. But what if there is a payoff? What if the unborn's life comes at the cost of the mother's life? Should we just let it happen, saying that it's fate? By that logic, every disease should remain untreated. While it's nice to say that even unborn babies should have the right to live, we don't actually mean it. Human beings have rarely thought beyond their immediate family, and that's how we are programmed genetically. At the end of an earthquake, you don't look for your neighbours...you look for your family. That's not being selfish, it's just being a normal human being. So while I can understand where the pro-life argument is coming from, I don't understand why it would only apply to abortions, and not to other things, like clinical testing on animals, or animal slaughter, or even racism. The biggest hypocrisy in this entire fiasco, is the fact that conservative racists in America who function with the prejudice that white lives are more important than black lives, suddenly feel that an unborn baby has an equal right to live.
Then there is of course the idea of choice. A woman's choice to not have a child, or a couple's choice to abort a child. Here the line becomes a bit grey. While pregnancies arising out of rape or incest are excludible due to obvious reasons, what about sex selective abortions? If my lifestyle choices can be a reason to abort a child, then why not my preference of the child's gender? The reason for sex selective abortion usually goes beyond the foetus and is part of a larger social problem of exclusion and preferential treatment. In most South Asian countries, this would virtually topple the sex ratio to a point of no return. Abortions for lifestyle reasons are indeed sad, but have to be respected. Every human life is sacred, and the solution to an untimely pregnancy should ideally be contraception and not abortion. But once a decision is taken, it must be respected as a personal one. The society is allowed to have an opinion on it, but not a part in the decision-making. That should remain with the concerned people. The politicians in the U.S have not thought about the consequences of their decision. An issue like this must be discussed and debated, but never decided. There is no right or wrong here, but only personal agency and liberty.
Would I abort an untimely pregnancy I might have with my partner? Maybe not. But it's easy for me to say that when I'm not the one giving by body on loan for ten months. Abortions are an extremely personal matter. There are morals involved, relatives with opinions involved....emotions that run high at times. But ultimately it's a decision that affects only the people who are responsible for the pregnancy. So maybe for a change, let's not make decisions for other people. Maybe this time, let them make their own choice, and keep your righteous or unrighteous opinion to yourself!
This does not however mean that the pro-life agenda is wrong. In fact, in its unadulterated form, the idea is commendable. Giving value to an unborn life is important, as it does not have any advocates for itself. God has given no voice to unborn life-forms, maybe under the assumption that their parents would value its life over anything else. But what if there is a payoff? What if the unborn's life comes at the cost of the mother's life? Should we just let it happen, saying that it's fate? By that logic, every disease should remain untreated. While it's nice to say that even unborn babies should have the right to live, we don't actually mean it. Human beings have rarely thought beyond their immediate family, and that's how we are programmed genetically. At the end of an earthquake, you don't look for your neighbours...you look for your family. That's not being selfish, it's just being a normal human being. So while I can understand where the pro-life argument is coming from, I don't understand why it would only apply to abortions, and not to other things, like clinical testing on animals, or animal slaughter, or even racism. The biggest hypocrisy in this entire fiasco, is the fact that conservative racists in America who function with the prejudice that white lives are more important than black lives, suddenly feel that an unborn baby has an equal right to live.
Then there is of course the idea of choice. A woman's choice to not have a child, or a couple's choice to abort a child. Here the line becomes a bit grey. While pregnancies arising out of rape or incest are excludible due to obvious reasons, what about sex selective abortions? If my lifestyle choices can be a reason to abort a child, then why not my preference of the child's gender? The reason for sex selective abortion usually goes beyond the foetus and is part of a larger social problem of exclusion and preferential treatment. In most South Asian countries, this would virtually topple the sex ratio to a point of no return. Abortions for lifestyle reasons are indeed sad, but have to be respected. Every human life is sacred, and the solution to an untimely pregnancy should ideally be contraception and not abortion. But once a decision is taken, it must be respected as a personal one. The society is allowed to have an opinion on it, but not a part in the decision-making. That should remain with the concerned people. The politicians in the U.S have not thought about the consequences of their decision. An issue like this must be discussed and debated, but never decided. There is no right or wrong here, but only personal agency and liberty.
Would I abort an untimely pregnancy I might have with my partner? Maybe not. But it's easy for me to say that when I'm not the one giving by body on loan for ten months. Abortions are an extremely personal matter. There are morals involved, relatives with opinions involved....emotions that run high at times. But ultimately it's a decision that affects only the people who are responsible for the pregnancy. So maybe for a change, let's not make decisions for other people. Maybe this time, let them make their own choice, and keep your righteous or unrighteous opinion to yourself!
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