Putting it simply, I do not support one argument or the other concretely. To me, it’s hard to talk about this subject because I honestly feel it heavily depends on the woman and her situation around why she wants to receive an abortion. If she is doing it for horrendous, evil reasons and completely discarding the life of her unborn child, no, I don’t support that. However, say a woman is raped, or her body is rejecting the child and she has the chance to die during childbirth…I am more inclined to give that decision to her, as it is not my body. Therefore, it is not my choice, and not my place to judge what she wants to do. I have a personal experience with this subject, so I tend to not know how to write about this eloquently, I apologize. However, I will say regarding Hawkins: I don’t feel comfortable agreeing with abortion being a means of population control, or ‘birth control’, for that matter. While, yes, I agree abortion is a way to allow women to not have more children than they desire, and a way to give them a choice with their bodies, I don’t agree that the subject of abortion can be secluded to one notion. I don’t think that it’s implemented into society JUST to control our numbers growing too rapidly. I believe, it is implemented to give women that choice, a right to their body and a decision on what to do for themselves. I believe that abortion is something that should not be shamed, as women who have to undergo this procedure are often devastated, it is not something they do proudly (unless you are a terrible human being with no regard for human life). What we do with our bodies is our choice, and no one else, friend/family/society as a whole, has a right to dictate what we do with our own life, and the life of the ones we carry inside of us. No one claimed that this was easy for women, so it should not be assumed that abortion is handled lightly, because it’s not. Yes, the baby is a life, but there are so many negative consequences of having a child when you are not medically or emotionally ready that can harm that child in the future as well. I don’t agree with abortions being done when it is a reckless and immature act that caused it, or a woman who has no regard for her baby. I do, however, support her right to terminate her pregnancy if it endangers her life, the life of the unborn baby, or will cause unimaginable, damaging trauma for one or both of them in the future. Women should have the right to their own choice, without judgement from outside parties.
I also disagree with Hawkins. Abortion is not something to be used for population control and this is not something that will win over any “pro-life” supporters. I feel her theory is a dangerous idea and could backfire as well. Abortion is a medical procedure and medical information is kept secret for many reasons and this should be the case with abortion as well. It is unfair to tell anyone what to do with their bodies, how to take care their own health and try to make those decisions for moral or political reasons rather than from a medical standpoint. The problem with abortion is that society takes the medical issue out of the equation and they tend to view it as a moral dilema rather than the objective one it should. It’s frustrating because everyone has an opinion about it but it really should only be the person who is directly faced with this decision. For the most part no one goes into this with malicious intent and I too, believe that it is a difficult decision for everyone.
I agree with you. I know someone personally who was faced with this heart-wrenching decision because it presented a life-threatening risk to her. It was truly one of the most heartbreaking moments in my life to watch her have to choose herself or her child. And, that’s what really opened my eyes when subjects like this come up.
Just curious, what would you consider an “evil” reason to choose to abort a pregnancy?
I essentially mean if a woman is having sex carelessly and recklessly, and aborting a child simply because they don’t want the responsibility; yet, they continue to participate in unsafe/unprotected sex knowing the risks of pregnancy. Bascially, the very EXTREME example of a woman knowing she has the option of abortion, and taking cruel advantage of that for her own selfish needs. This is incredibly rare, but it sadly happens. I hope that clarifies and makes sense.
Hi Rachel,
I agree with you that the specific situations do change the conversations we can have around abortion and that these conversations should only take place if we are invited to discuss it with a woman contemplating an abortion or the idea of what would an abortion be like. Any judgment or assumptive attitudes should and cannot be tolerated when discussing something as serious and impactful as whether or not to bring a pregnancy to full term. As you state, what a woman does with her body is her choice, and no one else’s. The consequences of a woman having a child is something unpredictable, extensive, and vast. If we want equality, if we want to end the oppressive nature of the patriarchy, if we want to raise strong, empowered, and self-sufficient women, we must first start by assuring that every woman has complete and unconditional control over her own body. This control of women’s bodies by men and other purveyors must end! We cannot tolerate even the slightest, well I don’t think you should … blah blah blah! Not your body, not your choice, not your opinion, and very much not your right to judge! It is a challenging topic but one we must discuss while taking into account our own social conditioning. Great post, honest and true to the course content.
– Mirko Lopes