Disclaimer: Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely pro-life, and very much anti-abortion. I firmly believe that a person is a person no matter how small, and that babies in the womb should be considered living, even if it's at 6 weeks.
This story kept me up at night (no joke). I seriously had a hard time sleeping for a few nights, not only because my own precious baby wasn't sleeping very well, but because I was so disgusted by this horrible act and by the fact that this poor baby boy who was viciously taken from his mother's womb wasn't recognized as a person and the perpetrator wasn't being charged for his murder. I remember thinking to myself, "That's it! Abortion needs to be illegal!"
A couple days ago, one of my friends posted an article on Facebook that said how proper/legal abortions was one of the greatest health benefits to women this society has ever made. I started to feel my blood boil at this remark, but I decided to read the article anyways. It is from the perspective of a practicing OBGYN who remembers the days before the Roe v. Wade case. He gave examples of women who had what he referred to as "back-ally abortions," where the abortions performed were not professional, safe, and in many instances it endangered the life of the mother. Some women would be laying on their death bed because of an abortion that was poorly executed. He made the point that women will be getting abortions no matter what, so we might as well make it legal so that way they aren't getting improper care and putting themselves in harm's way. His perspective was that "All abortions need to be legal."
Do you see the two extremes here? That's when it hit me. The solution to the abortion debate cannot be on either one of these extremes. I think (or at least I hope--maybe I'm a little naive about this), but I'm hoping that those people who are pro-choice can see how the current abortion laws make it so that in the case of the psycho woman from Colorado (newsflash: I promise we aren't all psycho), that baby is not recognized as a person, and this woman is not being charged for murder. I hope pro-choicers can see how horrendous that is.
On the other hand, I'll admit that I haven't really thought about the health aspect of legalizing abortions. Even if you're extremely pro-life (like I am), you have to admit that it is necessary for OBGYN's to be able to perform a legal abortion. Why? Because of the cases brought up so often by pro-choicers: Rape, and the pregnancy being a mortal danger to the mother.
Let's talk about the latter for a second. A pregnancy that would mortally danger the mother could be something like an tubal pregnancy. If the baby makes it past anywhere around 11 weeks, the tubes burst and the mother would probably die. If abortion were completely illegal, that means that a woman with a tubal pregnancy would not get the proper care she needed to end that pregnancy and save her life.
Let's talk about the example of rape for a minute. I know this is an extremely sensitive topic, so I'll try to be as objective as possible. Most pro-lifers out there say that if a girl is raped, she could still carry the baby, deliver the baby, and give it up for adoption (I'm pretty sure I've even said this before), which is absolutely true! Let me just say, if a woman/girl is raped and still carries that baby and gives it up for adoption, kudos! Not only is pregnancy/labor physically exhausting, but the emotional toll of giving up a baby for adoption is something I cannot even imagine. However, now that I have a daughter of my own, I put myself in the shoes of thinking "What if Hailey were raped and became pregnant? Would I make her keep the baby because I'm pro-life?" I thought back to my birth experiences with Andrew and Hailey and how sacred those experiences were. I thought back to the many times Grant and I were able to bond during my pregnancies and how I leaned on him for support. Those experiences that I went through with my husband by my side are irreplaceable. I want Hailey to be able to experience those things with her husband by her side. I would be ok with her getting a D&C if she were raped because I wouldn't want a rapist to take away those sacred experiences from her.
Alright, that's my huge lead up to my proposed abortion law. Here's what I propose (or at least a variation of this):
"If you want an abortion, you need to get it before you are 12 weeks pregnant. After 12 weeks pregnant, you need to deliver your baby and either keep it or give it up for adoption."
Why 12 weeks? The exceptions that pro-choicers talk about are rape or danger to the mother's life. If you're raped, you're going to know if you're pregnant before you're 12 weeks along,thus giving you time to end the pregnancy before you get too far along. Tubal pregnancies can't even last until 12 weeks, thus taking care of the case of endangering the mother's life.
Often times I feel like those who are pro-choice use these 2 exceptions as an excuse for being pro-choice. So, now that we've talked about those 2 exceptions, what else is left? This is where my pro-life sentiments kick in to full gear. Abortion is not a form of birth control. If you did not have protected sex and you get pregnant, you do not have a right to end someone else's life simply because you don't want the responsibility of your actions. It is not just your body anymore. I hear a lot "It's my body, I get to choose." Sorry, you already did. You DO have a choice, but you do not get to choose your consequences of that choice. If you don't want a baby, that's totally fine. I have plenty friends that have wept into their pillows because they cannot have biological children. I know they would GLADLY take the responsibility for you. But it is not your right to end another's life simply because you made a mistake and you don't want to deal with the ramifications. #sorrynotsorry
I know that my proposed abortion law isn't perfect and I get that this issue is much more complex, but I feel like if we have a law that allows for those 2 exceptions I talked about, what else can pro-choicers say? A person is a person, no matter how small, and the definition of a living being is not whether or not someone wants to keep you.
