Political corner

I should know to just forgo talking about politics on my blog. It really is just going to get me in trouble but here goes.

I would consider myself "pro-life." But, come to think of it, I think most people are "pro-life." No one that I know has the attitude of "let's kill people! I'm anti-life." I also think that most people are "pro-choice." Again, I don't know anyone who thinks that people shouldn't have choices. The real debate here is what choices people believe they should have and that's where things get tough.

Again, I would consider myself to be "pro-life." I would not contemplate an abortion for myself and I wouldn't encourage one of my friends to have an abortion. And yet, I don't think that abortion should be illegal. Here are my reasons:

1) If abortion is illegal there are two choices concerning girls and women who find themselves as victims of rape or incest: we allow abortion as an option in these cases or we don't.

• If it were allowed in these cases then the following would likely occur: 1) there would likely be an upsurge in court battles over what is considered rape. I have a feeling that this would lead to some definitions that would be hurtful to both men and women who find themselves in the situation of an unplanned pregnancy. 2) Women and girls who are already traumatized would therefore be forced to relive and rehash in public a very sensitive and hurtful event. 3) Court battles aren't quick. By the time a court were to find a girl or woman the victim of rape or incest, her pregnancy would likely be in the second or even third trimester. I don't know anyone who would think a late-term abortion was a better option than an early-term one.
• If these instances were to not be considered appropriate for an abortion, then an innocent victim would be required to pay the consequences for another's wrongful actions.

2) The move to make abortions illegal would likely result in a rise in "dirty abortions." Though it may seem that making abortion illegal would eliminate or significantly reduce the instances of elective abortions in the United States, the trend in other countries throughout the world shows that when they are illegal, the statistics of women who resort to dirty abortions with rusty coat hangers or crook doctors is significantly high. For anyone with a "mother goes down with the ship" attitude, I question why two lives are better than one.

3) Legalized abortion gives women reproductive control. While, again, I do not believe that abortion is the right choice, I feel that the legalization of abortion reduces a man's ability to dominate a woman. I've heard of instances (even at my own high school!) of boys who poked holes in condoms, trying to intentionally impregnate their girlfriends. This attempt to exercise domination over a woman is simply wrong.

I believe that consenting adults who engage in sexual activity and find themselves in the predicament of an unplanned pregnancy should take responsibility for their choices. (Editor's note: the following sentence has been added for clarification).  I believe that should be to carry the baby to term and either the couple marries and cares for the child or the mother places the child up for adoption..

 My heart does break with story after story of men abandoning their girlfriends after finding out they are pregnant. While it would not be my choice, and I do consider it the wrong choice, I can understand why a girl would feel drawn to the choice of having an abortion in such a circumstance. Both a man and a woman made this decision but the woman is left to suffer the consequences on her own.

In my opinion, we should stop talking about whether or not abortion should be illegal, and start concentrating attention and funding on better education for teens and young adults. Abstinence only education simply does not work. If you review the statistics you'll find that school districts that teach abstinence only sex ed don't have less sexual misconduct, they just have more pregnancies when teens decide to engage anyway. In fact, abstinence only education may just inadvertently promote premarital sexual experimentation because it is "forbidden." Birth control should be available for teens and young adults on a confidential basis. "Taking care of a baby" week should be instituted in high schools. Most importantly, parents should make themselves available to talk to about sexual temptation and about the consequences of such actions.