by Erin Weist
While a multitude of ills befall our world on a regular basis, recently very few things have aroused such passions on an international scale than the issues surrounding marriage & family. Not far behind, and related by nature, is the controversy of abortion. In wake of the recent headlines regarding abortion in the United States I have thought about why this is such a difficult issue to resolve. I feel incredibly strong about the immorality of abortion–that it flies in the face of my faith, my regard for human life and my regard for human choices. But choice is exactly where the difference lies between the two opinions. Pro-abortion advocates have touted for decades that the thing they hold sacrosanct above all else is the ability for women to be able to choose what happens to their body. But I disagree. In fact, I would argue that theirs is nothing more than a hashtag, a P.R. move, and a tightly controlled dialogue that has nothing to do with choice.
Fast-forward several decades into our sexual revolution and you will find a multitude of choices. Choices to engage in sexual activity at nearly any age (not legal at younger ages but unfortunately still made available through chat sites, phone apps and other technological advances), choices to engage with a multitude of sexual partners, and choices to experiment with various gender identities. None of these have been inhibited through legislation, allowing people the option to choose morality or immorality. We have our freedom, we have our choices. In this way I am pro-choice.
The problem is that we’ve forgotten to teach each generation that consequences come as a result of choices. Where I draw the line is when a woman makes those choices and, instead of recognizing the natural consequences that come of engaging in various sexual activities (or even engaging only once!), multitudes of people from school administrators to healthcare practitioners to politicians proclaim that she can continue to choose what will come as a result of her sexual activity.
Now this seems to be basic biology to me: engaging in intercourse leads to pregnancy. So when pro-choice advocates say they want a woman to choose what she does with her body, what they really mean is that she’s already chosen and they want women to not have consequences. They want to undo what’s already been done and be free from natural biological processes.
What a great disservice this has done to entire generations of people! To think that you can make choices and be free from consequences of those choices flies in the face of every natural process on earth! Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You absolutely cannot expect to act with no repercussions–we reap what we sow. To abandon this basic principle on which the earth turns is complete folly. So what we end up with is a selfish, uneducated populace that doesn’t recognize that the choice that has been made to engage in intercourse has now produced another being who is blameless but regardless must now be considered as part of the equation.
Once a woman is pregnant her choices are not merely her own consideration now. Granted, in the case where a woman is impregnated against her will, there needs to be greater compassion and public dialogue on how to handle such delicate cases, including considerations of how to care for the mother & child in such undesirable pregnancies, legal or criminal action to be taken against the predators, and more.
Many of these issues are far from simple but one thing is clear. Laws are meant to give freedom to live after the pursuit of happiness for all, including curtailing behavior that inhibits anothers’ freedom. Once someone has made a choice that involves another life form, laws need to be crafted to protect that life form and not simply the woman seeking to live without consequence.