Pro Choice, not Pro Murder

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I've been following this since it hit the news, and it just makes me sick every time I read about it.

Here's a man, who never completed the schooling to do abortions, not only performing them but doing so in such horrible conditions, and when and how he's not supposed to. And I can't help but feel that he was only seeing the dollar signs, and nothing else. It's these kinds of things that give abortion such a bad name.

I am Pro Choice. I am not Pro Murder.

I have said from the beginning of this debate that one has to draw a line somewhere on when you can and cannot have an abortion. I feel that if that baby could survive on its own outside of the womb, then you cannot have an abortion. At that point, it is actually alive. However, I do not feel that something that is not fully formed yet is wrong to have aborted. If it is not yet to the stage where it is a fetus that could survive outside the room, if lungs, heart, brain, ect have not formed yet so that it can actually live; then I don't feel it is truly alive.

Most doctors say this is during the first trimester, and the beginning of the second. And that's why you aren't supposed to be able to have an abortion after that amount of time, because then the fetus is able to survive after the induced labor.

Now, while I am Pro Choice, I am also Pro Limits.

I do not think abortion should be birth control!

Abortion should be a last-ditch method after all other avenues have been tried.

In this day and age of birth control pills/patches/IUDs/ect, condoms, spermicide, Plan B/Morning After Pill, and most importantly KNOWLEDGE; there is no excuse for getting pregnant!

Yes, accidents do happen. And there will always be that freak accident where the condom breaks, birth control fails, spermicide apparently didn't manage to kill them all, and holy shit you're pregnant. At this point you have taken all precautions, and you practiced safe sex. If you really don't want the child, an abortion is the last option out there if putting the child up for adoption isn't for you.

I've spoken with people who were given up for adoption because of things like this too. None of them feel too good about it. So adoption, while it means that the child is alive, isn't necessarily for the best.

So abortion should be a consideration.

I feel however in the case of rape, abortion should be allowed. You're talking a woman who was just violated, and had everything about who she was as a person destroyed. Making her carry for nine months a brutal reminder of this is just adding to the psychological trauma. And if she should keep that child, there's probably a much higher risk that the child will lead a troubled home life because of the mother's memories.

In the case of the mother's life being in danger if she were to proceed with the pregnancy and birth, abortion should absolutely be an option! It might seem like a noble thing to give birth and bring new life into the world, even if the mother dies in the process, but think how that child is going to feel knowing all this.

And too, in the case that you know your child would be born with severe developmental issues, I think abortion should be an option. It's just not fair to the child. Humans are cruel by nature, and a mother's love can only shelter a child from just so much. The quality of life just wouldn't be there, and that's not fair either.

However, in any of these cases it is NEVER okay to abort the child if you're into the final bits of pregnancy.

For those who feel the father should have a choice, I'd like to remind you that it's still the mother that must carry the child. In cases where the mother's life is not at risk and rape is not involved, I think the father should definitely have a say in it, but that it's ultimately the mother's decision. If the father wants to take the baby though, then that's fine too. But remember Dads, you're not the one who is going to have to carry the child for nine months and deal with all those fun trials and tribulations. And if you're the one pushing to keep the child, you ought to pay for the hospital expenses, because it's not cheap.

With all that said, I am firmly against the girls who fool around, get knocked up, and then use abortions like birth control pills. Not only do I think it's incredibly unhealthy, but I think it's morally wrong too.

Hell, I don't think married couples should use it that way either.

And I think that with all our technology, there should be a system in place to track abortions.

Think about it. Every legal citizen of the US has a social security number. HIPPA laws be damned, I think that those who have abortions should have them logged in a system only health professionals can see so that no one can abuse it. And I think the reason should be coded in too. A one for rape, two for health complications, three for choice, ect.

And then re-write HIPPA so that your doctor can only ask you about the abortions in certain instances.

Then people can't abuse the right. You can put laws in that regulate everything. Then you don't have to worry about tax dollars being needlessly spent on abortion.

Because like it or not, abortions will happen. And we can either allow them to be done safely, or we can have more clinics popping up like the one in the article.

Making abortions illegal is only going to drive people to perform them unsafely. You'll never be able to completely stop it from happening, so at least make it safe and keep it properly regulated.

And educate people on it.

Studies are already showing that teen pregnancy is down, which directly corresponds with increasing education about safe sex instead of abstinence only. So obviously education is doing a lot of good. Discuss what abortion does to a body, discuss the stages of fetal growth, discuss and teach everything. Let an informed decision be made.

I bet you'd find that abortion rates dropped too.

And last but not least, stop protesting outside of Planned Parenthood!

I know there are those who don't like what they do. Especially the church-going crowd. But for goodness sake, what are your protests actually doing? As we see with the one woman in the article, it scared a young girl into having a late-term abortion and a domino effect occurring. Rather than protesting PP, get out and offer counseling! Offer other solutions!

Or, just look the other way and voice your opinions elsewhere. Remember, not everyone prays to the same God in this country, which is part of what makes America so amazing. And so when you're protesting because your God frowns upon their decision, you really don't have a very strong argument for protesting with.

Facts speak louder than religion in this country.

And remember too, that Planned Parenthood is also a place where people can get affordable Plan B, where they can get advice on planning for a baby, where they can learn about contraceptives, and basically where they can get a lot of very useful information. Abortions are not the main thing offered there. And not all PP locations will offer them.

Planned Parenthood also isn't about promoting having sex. In fact, they too teach abstinence as the best option. However, they're willing to teach about other things too because they know that sex happens.

And in this day and age, it happens more than parents want to admit. And we all know that telling a child no just makes them want to go out and do the opposite all the more.

So in the end, education is best.
Regulation is the key.
Choice should never be taken away.
And Murder is always wrong.