I have been pro-life for as long as I can remember. In 2008, I remember it being the main reason my little 3rd grade self supported John McCain. I was in 3rd grade and ignorant of John McCain’s awful record, but I was told the Democrats wanted babies to be murdered.
I didn’t fully understand the science, but I did understand that there was a human being there, that killing it would be murder, and that murder is awful. It wasn’t until years later that I started to truly understand the biology of the matter; the fact that at the moment of conception, a new, completely separate human being from the mother and father exists.
Now, at the ripe old age of 19, I have an even greater understanding that every human being has inalienable rights that are inherent as human beings – those being the right to life, liberty, and property. I believe those rights come from God but my Atheist and Agnostic friends believe they are naturally occurring. Either way, they undeniably exist, and were recognized by the Founding Fathers from our nation’s beginning.
However, some argue that even if there is a human life, that the baby forced itself there, making it a violation of property rights. I will be arguing against this perspective.
Let’s start with the reason that the vast majority of abortions are performed. Convenience.
Say there is a salesman out there that gives out a “product” that allows you to experience some of the best feelings for several minutes. It doesn’t cost much to acquire this product, just that you have to sign a contract saying this salesman gets to experience this product with you for however long it lasts. After that, both the salesman and the product purchaser can decide if that salesman gets to hang around and establish a working relationship with you or walk out.
For this example, we will have the salesman leave the next day. Well, that’s awesome. It seems like everything is fine. Then about a month later, you realize some things are getting weird in your house. Rooms are randomly messy, the thermostat is always getting messed with, doors are unlocked, etc. So you go out and get a “home tester” and test your house to see what the heck is wrong, just to find out there is some random stranger that has been living with you for the last month or so. You wonder, “How the heck did this person get in here,” so you start rethinking your last month of all these occurrences, trying to figure out what the heck happened.
Then you remember your time using that product provided by the salesman, and the warnings from your mother saying that when signing the contracts provided for said product, there is always a slight chance that a random person may show up in your home for forty weeks. That person had no choice to be there or not. They just kind of showed up after you signed the contract and enjoyed the “product.”
You don’t have to do too much while they’re there, just buy a little bit more food and experience discomforts in your home for that period of time. They also can’t survive outside of your home, and at the end of the nine months you can continue to take care of them or give them to another home that wants them.
Do you have the right to kill that person or force them out in order to start enjoying your home again? Of course not. You willingly signed that contract that said that person may or may not show up. It is not their fault that you were looking for a nice experience and not ready for them to show up.
It is not a mystery to people that every time they have sex there is a possibility that they may conceive a child. They are actively making the decision to agree to an unwritten contract to prepare for this possibility and the accompanying responsibilities.
If the child is at risk of having physical or mental deformities, or if they’ll grow up poor and in a crummy situation, does that give you the right to kill them? No, it does not.
Let’s look at the risk of the mother’s life being lost as well. Although that only makes up .27% of abortions, pro-abortion advocates will bring it up. Lets go back to my analogy.
So, now you have a professional (doctor) come in and do routine check ups on the sturdiness of your house and the well-being of the person living there. They let you know that there is now a slight chance that the person might just burn the house down, but that the professional has a procedure to kill the person and get them out of your house (although it’s actually safer to just have them leave and try to live in a makeshift house temporarily). This was also in the contract – that there is an even smaller chance that once this person shows up, they can possibly burn your house down. Do you have the choice to kill them then? Again, of course not. You signed the contract, knowing the risks.
Yes, the mothers life being at risk is incredibly scary and sad. However, there is a difference between having an abortion, and seeking treatment for something that puts the mother’s life at risk. In fact, according to Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortionist, it is never medically necessary to have an abortion, and it’s in fact safer to deliver the baby early through C-section or early induction.
Of course, lets look at the elephant in the room and address the case of rape, which only makes up .14% of abortions.
Say this salesman approaches you, and asks you to use this product with them. You say no and do not consent, so they forge your signature on the contract and force you to take the product with them. You get no enjoyment out of this because you were forced into it, but that person still shows up and starts messing with your home. Do you have the right to kill them and get them out of your home?
Some would say that because you did not willingly sign that contract, take the product, or enjoy the product, you have every right to kill that person as you didn’t agree to them being there. I completely understand that argument, and it is the only one that I can say I do. However, I do not agree with it.
This circumstance can really bring morals into question, as the woman was forced into this situation and wants nothing to do with it. I sympathize with that woman, and truly feel bad for her. But that baby, that human being, had no choice in being there either. The man that raped this woman should be locked up for life. But one tragedy does not justify another of killing and ending a human life with the same rights to life, liberty, and property as everyone else.
Ultimately, we as a culture need to step up. Yes, women do fall into sad circumstances. Sometimes because they were irresponsible. Other times because they were forced into a horrible situation. We need to step up and support these women.
You can find a list of pregnancy resource centers in my home state that help women here. You can support these organizations, but you should alsolook up pregnancy resource centers in your own home states and support them through financial or voluntary means.
Let’s not only make abortion illegal, but unthinkable because of the support we can provide these women when they are in these frightening, life-changing situations