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This is a conversation I usually save for dinner parties. Right after I tell everyone whose God is better and why. The issue somehow snakes its way into politics every couple of years. Especially into party platforms and redundant political debates. Making just enough impact to get people to go out and vote on "that" single issue. Why worry about fleeting Social Security or the failing health system? What war in Iraq? When we focus on abortion real problems just don't matter.
Well folks, here's the deal. Cut and dry. Abortion is wrong.
"But I have rights!"
No, you don't. Not on this.
You have the right to travel freely around the country. You have the right to go to school, to get married, to get a job. To be a mediocre parent. To wear whatever you want. You even still have the right to smoke. But you do not have the right to decide the fate of another human being.
This is not a moral stance. It's an ethical one. Killing is one of those universal wrongs. If you get knocked up, take responsibility for your actions. There are plenty of programs out there to assist you in the pregnancy and in the adoption procedures if you aren't ready to raise a kid.
"But I'll feel humiliated at school/the office/home if they know I'm pregnant!" Well, maybe you should have kept your panties on. Buying diarrhea medicine is pretty humiliating but it's better than shitting your pants.
Maybe I just don't understand what it's like because I'm a man. It's only fair that we pay child support once the decision is made to keep the child. Then it becomes ours. What stake do we really have in it other than the fact that it's half our DNA? I mean, it's her body and half his child.
So it makes it her right to decide what to do with her body and their child? That doesn't seem very fair or right. And doesn't that also mean that you might abort a woman you'd want to have the right to choose? Because the child didn't have much of a chance to decide much of anything for itself.
And fellas, if you aren't ready to be a daddy, do your best to avoid it. But be a man when things don't turn out how you planned.
Sure there are plenty of issues I'm not touching on right now. When does life begin? Conception? A trimester later? How about life begins for the child when you realize you're pregnant for the first time? Rape? Incest? Well if you get raped, and you can, get immediate medical attention and throw the person who did it to you in jail. The morning after pill works.
I know it's a touchy issue. But seriously folks, let's concentrate on how to get rid of the problem by making baby making alright again. If you don't want a baby then use birth control methods.
If accidents happen, then get help from one of the many programs designed for future parents. It won't ruin your career. There is maternity leave. Universities have daycare programs and financial aid. People want to adopt babies. You'll live. And so will the child.
I say we stop fighting and just ban the thing so we can worry about issues at hand for once.
Reach columnist Brian Broekemeier at Brian.Broekemeier@usd.edu.
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