Update 05/29/2010 – Here is a blog post on mincing the term “pro-life” – it’s written by Joshua Holland and touches on one of the subjects that I write about here. I link to it here because he puts it much better than I can 😛

Abortion, Why is it Such a Big Deal?

Abortion. A loaded topic if ever there was such a thing. I don’t particularly know about the rest of the world, but people here in the U.S. go completely apeshit over the topic of abortion. I mean, there has been horrific violence tied to the subject, and I’m not talking about the dead fetuses. I’m talking about grown ass people kidnapping and killing doctors, bombing clinics, picketing, fighting, adding changes to legislation and so on and so forth. I mean, it’s a bit ridiculous.

I feel that no matter what you feel about the issue, whether you are so called “pro-choice” or “pro-life” there’s one small thing that we are all forgetting. Where is the freedom in this country? In a free nation, a person who wants to abort their unborn child should be well within their rights to do so. Point blank. I can understand extenuating circumstances and a governing body of law should be in place to address those issues when they arise, but for the most part…if someone wants to do it, let em.

What are the arguments against abortion? I would gather that a chunk of them are uber-religious in nature, and of that religion…I’d hazard a guess at Christianity being the biggest culprit. I suppose the biggest argument would be:

“They (the fetuses) are living human beings and therefore abortion is murder.”

When someone gets an abortion, I’m pretty sure that they’re going through some pretty strong physical, emotional and mental stresses already. Being labeled a murderer must be the icing on the cake right? I personally can’t see a fetus as a living human being, and even if such a thing is absolutely fact, I gotta ask this: So what?  I’m a bit cold on this subject. I think there are too many people as is. Everybody wants to protect the fetus, but stops giving a fuck when it becomes an actual breathing human being.

Many arguments get brought into this equation. Questions about the health of the carrier. Questions about morals and lack of education. Questions about rape pregnancies and etc etc etc. With so many different possible circumstances and points of view on the subject, I think it would be best for everybody, if everybody let the individuals decide for themselves and/or with the people that they trust/love and are involved with.

Yes, I do think that some government involvement is in order, especially for those that need an abortion done and can’t afford it and to make sure there are universal and regulated procedures. Yes, I think that people should be educated about the possible health care concerns of having an abortion as well as about the alternatives to abortion. And yes, I do believe that those horrific fetus pictures that the pro-lifers like to show should be seen by people thinking to have the procedure done. Young girls who are thinking about it should talk it out with friends, family or professionals. But in the end, I also think that if people decide to have it done, they should not be criminalized and vilified for their actions.

To all of you woman that have had abortions, for whatever reasons, I’m not mad at you at all.

To all of you that are thinking about it, I urge you to educate yourselves first. There are other options and other things to consider. But, I leave it up to you, good luck.

Wikipedia has a lot of info to get you started off – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion

Here are some quick and easy to read facts – Abortion Facts

There is a LOT of literature and film on every aspect of abortion available – http://amzn.to/2c9xThQ

http://bit.ly/AbortionAMZSearch

I think George Carlin explains my view on the subject best. So I’m gonna let him talk. (Adding a few in case one goes down;)

The subject of this post, “abortion”, was suggested to me. See this post for more details.