Bye Bye Baby

I don’t know of any more debated subject then that of abortion. It’s a difficult topic, with emotions running high on both sides of the issue. Oh sure, each camp has a pile of information as to why they are correct. The major flaw with each position is that they come from a narrow minded viewpoint.

Does this mean my opinion is any less flawed? Hardly. This topic has been running through my mind for years. Every time I hear about it in the news, I start thinking about what I believe should be the right choice. The truth is, I have been waffling between both sides, and I’m probably still not sure what the best course of action is. I’m always up for a challenge though, so it’s time for me to climb down off the fence and tackle this subject head on.

Please don’t get the wrong idea when reading this article. I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, nor would I presume to tell you how you must believe this problem be resolved. In fact, after reading my views you may come out of this even more confused then you went in. So let’s get going and see where this takes us.

While contemplating this subject for the umpteenth time, I tried to get a feeling for how it could be broken down. Many complicated things can usually be broken down into more simplistic parts. After the simple parts are analyzed and understood, then they can be reassembled and hopefully we can then gain a better insight and conclusion for what we were so confused about in the first place.

The act of simplifying the various components of abortion is not meant to trivialize the subject in any way. This is not a flippant attempt to gain some sort of following on my way of thinking. I am not a leader of any cause, and I am certainly not a follower of any special interests. My goal is to try and come to grips with a battle that has divided the world, and try to see if I could help myself to better understand what was at stake in the answers.

I’d like to begin by answering the question of where life begins. After giving this only a brief moment of thought it was very apparent to me that life begins at the fertilization of an egg by the sperm. Isn’t it obvious to anyone that from that moment on there is a new life in the making? I’d really be curious to hear from anyone who does not agree with this view.

Just because the life is not physically recognizable as a baby, does not make it any less viable. The fact remains, that once fertilization has occurred, the new life is on an express ride to being a human being. Therefore, any termination of that life should be classified as killing that life.

It sickens me to think that people are trying to measure the amount a life has grown and judging at which stage it is considered a human. I’m sorry, but this seemed extremely basic to me, yet at times in the past I found myself listening to the other side of the argument like there was some scientific explanation at when a life was a life. In the end, no complicated smoke and mirrors are needed. Any person with a basic understanding of how babies are made can tell you when they become a life.

Now that we have the foundation of when life begins for a human being, lets move on to the actual act of when aborting that life is acceptable. While we’re at it, let’s remove the term abortion, and just call it what it is, murder.

Is murder too strong of a word for you? It even feels weird to write it, but if we accept the previous facts of when a life begins, then the ending of that life on purpose must be called murder. The term abortion seems like an attempt to make it sound like it’s a medical procedure rather then purposely killing a human being.

Keeping with the process of breaking things down to their simplest components, let’s say that there are two occasions when the murder of a fetus can take place as an abortion. These I like to call the “Oops”, and the “Uh-oh”.

The “Oops” thought process for the murder is for those occasions when a baby was not planned. This can be from a one-night stand, kids that are not yet adults, or even legally married people that accidentally slipped one past the goalie. Whatever the circumstances, these babies began life without their parents being able to foretell their coming.

Oops babies should never be murdered under any circumstance. No matter the embarrassment to religious circles from unwed mothers, the difficulties raising a child by a child, or the financial strain it might place on a family to have another child. In these cases, the fact is, you made the decision to have sex, and it’s time to take responsibility for that decision.

Sure an Oops baby can cause strain, be hard work to raise, or make stupid people talk about it behind your back. So what? Would these be grounds for murder? Gee, should we allow the killing of children if a family has to file for bankruptcy? Thin the herd so the rest of the family survives? Of course not, so why should we allow it early on?

If a family or mother truly cannot support, or mentally deal with, a new baby, then they should still have to carry it to term, look it in its helpless little eyes, then give it up for adoption if they still feel the need. There should be no question in these cases.

Now “Uh-oh” babies are a different story. This is where I am a little fuzzy on when an uh-oh baby comes along. I have heard that there are medical reasons that murdering the fetus is required, maybe to save the life of the mother, or that there is something seriously wrong with the fetus, like it will be born without a brain. To me, it sounds perfectly plausible that there are cases that must be treated medically for sound medical reasons. The same reasons that doctors make all of their decisions, to save a life or to prevent unnecessary suffering.

If you’re a regular reader of my articles, you probably are aware that I am a big fan of freedom. Although freedom is a great thing, it also comes at a price. Some people mistake the term freedom as meaning that they have the power to do anything they want, to whomever they want, and whenever they decide. This is not true. Freedom should be something that is granted as long as the granting of that freedom does not harm another human being. In the case of murdering unborn babies, you are not free to choose who lives and who dies.

Women in our country have incredible amounts of freedom. In fact, I’d say that the United States of America is probably one of the few countries that allow women almost any freedom they desire. Women can use birth control, vote, and pretty much pursue any career of their choosing. Sorry ladies, but I would be the first to stand in the way for the freedom for you to murder unborn babies.

I will concede that in some areas women still have difficult times, but they should realize that we all have trouble in some form or another in our society. Minority races, women, and even the proverbial white male all have areas where who they are can limit their access. Perfection will always be fleeting, but we continue to try.

So, should we look down upon women who have had abortions in the past as murderers? Certainly not! This subject has been so confusing for so long that I can’t even imagine having to make such a choice. I do think as a society we need to focus on treating it for what it is, and educating the masses as to why it is murder.

There is no freedom of choice issue, there is no religious versus atheism, or anything else here. We do not allow people to murder other people for any reason in this country, so the time has come to take a firm stand on this one. Of course, there is the death penalty, but let’s save that one for another time.

Finally, the old argument that women will just go into dark alleys to have it done is a lame one. People will also buy drugs, and murder people, this does not mean we legalize drugs and murder so it can be done in a more civilized manner. No matter how you slice it, abortions are murder. I’d love to hear an opposite opinion.