Extreme Makeover: Sally's Uterus (An Editorial on Abortion)

I try not to discuss my personal beliefs on this subject with too many people. It usually ends up as a pointless argument. Neither side will budge. If you're pro-life, you're probably going to stay that way. The same applies to pro-choicers, and I'll go ahead and get this out of the way…I'm pro-choice. The great thing about writing an editorial for a medium such as Associated Content is that you don't have to argue with anyone. You state your case, and move on. The next time the topic of abortion is broached at a coffeehouse or at the dinner table, I will simply hand over a hard copy of this piece. Why am I pro-choice? Read on…

Abortions Are Fun

Just kidding.

Dead Baby Day

There's a disconcerting misconception concerning the pro-choice platform. Some people equate "pro-choice" with "pro-abortion." In actuality, religious robots and liberal hippies feel the same way. No one likes abortion. Those in favor of a woman's right to choose do not celebrate the extermination of a fetus. We don't have a holiday where we run around screaming, "Kill your babies before you have to spend too much money on them!" Pro-lifers share the sentiments of pro-choicers. We don't care for the practice, but it does exist. If we ban it outright, well, that brings me to my next subject.

Now Where Am I Supposed to Leave My Coat?

As of right now, a female can go to a clean, professional clinic to have an abortion. If we get rid of the clinics, a determined female will still have the abortion, only in an alarming, unsafe way. "Homemade abortions" will rise in numbers. She could use a coathanger, she could throw herself down a flight of stairs, she could have her boyfriend repeatedly kick her in the stomach…yes, these atrocities already take place, but why give someone more of a reason to resort to base acts of self-mutilation?

Horse and Miscarriage

Pro-lifers typically posit the catechism, "Why can't you just put the baby up for adoption?" Yes, why can't you simply carry the baby to term? It's just nine months. Your body will undergo tremendous stress and you may struggle with depression after giving the baby up, but that's not asking much, is it? Give me a break. If a 13-year-old girl is raped and impregnated, should she risk her life so that the baby can be adopted? Pro-lifers want you to believe that abortions are acceptable if the mother's life is at stake. I'm not sure why they feel this way since they maintain that the unborn child's interests should come first. If abortion is selfish, why shouldn't the mother die for her baby? Why should there be any immunities at all?

Not-So-Vital Organs

When is a person a person? At conception? We've all heard the "abortion is murder" line of defense, but how can you murder something that can't survive independently of a woman's body? Partial-term abortions are one thing, but in my eyes, a fetus in the first trimester is no different from a kidney or a gallbladder.

God Told Me That You're Wrong

The "pro-life" stance stems from religion. Not every pro-lifer is religious, I know, but that's really what's going on here. When you expostulate that abortion should be banned, you're imposing your belief system on an entire country. I'm sorry, but you can't do that. You can't ask billions of unique individuals to abide to a decree that is rooted in a specific religion. That would be analogous to forcing all families to celebrate Kwanzaa.

I can't put into words how important it is for a woman to be able to decide what happens inside of her body. Do some females use abortion as a form of birth control? Probably, but how is it any different from using birth control as a form of birth control? Either way, you're interfering with procreation. I don't care if a woman is on her fifth abortion; she should be able to have the procedure done, regardless of how I perceive it. If you really feel that abortion is amoral, let your God judge the accused.