Stupid Like That
Sometimes, there are certain ideas which seem almost too predictable, too much of a stereotype, to be real. Pro-life ideas, for example: I have never really thought that there are people in this day and age who actually think that abortion is a sin and those who undergo abortions are heartless murderers. But there are. I have never really thought, for example, that there are people who actually thinks homosexuals are perverts. But there are. You never really think that there are still men that want to tell their wives what to wear; but there are! Some things never cease to surprise. Human beings can be stupid like that.
I found this on a status update on the Facebook profile of someone I know: “Let the walls inside the abortion clinics be filled with forgiveness, let the cries of innocent LIFE be heard, Let redemption and vindication take place through LOVE LOVE LOVE. That the God indwelt spirit of motherhood would arise in the women that go through those doors so that they would turn around and would walk out because of a convicted heart that would be REVEALED to them…Forgive..Forgive…Forgive.” Leaving aside the more than slightly hysterical obsession with God, what makes me shudder is the not one, but three ‘forgive’s at the end of it. So women who undergo abortion, sinful heathens that they are, need three times the forgiveness.
What always irritates me is that pro-life types seem to get more than the basics wrong. They always think it’s an argument about whether abortion is good or bad, about its moral, or rather immoral, status. They think they need to convince us that abortion is bad. Er, I think any fool can understand why it is bad. Abortion is a sad, terrible thing that should always be absolute the last resort: and I don’t think anyone knows that as much as the women who have had undergone it. The argument of the pro-legalisation section of society is never that it is good. The argument is that it is necessary to give women the choice.
I can be naive and say ‘oh the poor unborn’. But what about the already living? What about the life of the woman, for whom life is about to be eternally changed drastically? Would you rather a baby was born to she who does not want it? Or cannot afford it? Would you rather it was strangled at birth and dumped in a toilet? Would you rather it was brought up by a mother that couldn’t bear to feed it because it was the child of her own grandfather?
So I’m sorry - I’ve seen teenage mothers, victims of rape, mostly of incest, who cannot even go near their children. Both mother and child spend the rest of their lives in trauma. I’ve seen families who have one too many children and can’t afford to look after either one. I’ve seen families who just aren’t ready for a child: which, I assure you, is much much worse for the child than being aborted at a stage where it is a barely formed group of cells.
So I’m sorry - No, I don’t believe that life begins at conception; who does, really? How can it? Life begins when a child is born, when it breathes its first breath and cries its first cry. Until then, I think it’s fair to take the mother’s rights into account before those of a barely formed group of cells.
Of course contraception is the first choice. We know. I doubt any woman ever goes in for an abortion without it being the only choice she has; I doubt any woman likes abortion, or thinks it’s good, or does it lightly, or for fun. Women who undergo abortions do so for the lack of choice, not because they like the idea of terminating their pregnancy. Not because they are irresponsible, immoral, bloodthirsty fiends. But because they simply do not want a child at that moment in their lives, for whatever reason it may be. States who legalise it do it so that women can have safe and hygienic abortions performed. Not because it is an evil state.
Anyway, there is no place in state law for morality. That’s what religious institutions are there for. By all means, they should go ahead and educate the congregation on the horrors of abortion and teach them about ways not to get pregnant if you don’t want to. BUT NO, of course they wouldn’t do this either. Some religious institutions are even against contraception.
And so they give you this spiel about the ‘blessing of motherhood’ - it’s a blessing for those who want it. It’s a choice.
Maybe if all these people shouting about the sin of abortion spent that much time and effort talking about contraception to their friends and children, there wouldn’t be so much abortion. Maybe if we spent time and and money educating our societies about birth control, there wouldn’t be so much abortion. These pro-life types would be far more useful, and effective no doubt, if they focused their energies on being pro-contraception types.
If you’re genuinely concerned about the rising rates of abortion, start a campaign to educate on safe sex. Don’t go around passing moral judgment on those who have had abortions. Don’t go around thinking you’re better than someone else.
good post. I’m kinda of the fence about abortion. Religion says its a life, but then again, yes, what about cases of rape or when the mother’s life is in danger. wierd…what needs to be addressed in this country IS the high rate of illegal abortions which are so dangerouse. maybe more open conversation and communication on safe sex.
Comment by Dee — August 17, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
the confused (and plain silly) logic of this post is amazing .
moral arguments on abortion are simple (as arguments) .
1/
if anyone thinks embryo is a life, then abortion is murder. as such those ppl should oppose it in all legal ways. similar to the way ppl oppose any other murder. and there can be no objection to trying to convince ppl that murder is bad, or for assuming a moral superiority over those who want an abortion, anymore than over other murderers, criminals, and other low life.
2/
if anyone think life starts at birth then it is not murder. as such apart from health consideration there should not be any restrictions on abortion. abortion needs no justification in that case . if it not life there is no need for all that . it should not much different than getting youir appendix or tonsils removed .
ppl are either 1, or 2, or morally confused ( which some ppl are right to confess to be ).
but electra here does not confess to confusion. in fact she asserts her her position clearly .
then why the silly arguments ?
it is alway funny when that ppl like her go on with them as if trying to justify and mitigate when there is no need ; one about incest and rape (why drag that in ? since they form only a small minority of abortions when all obortions are ok ), one about abortion being the “absolute last resort” ( why not the first ?really? ), or the one about abortion being ” a sad, terrible thing ” ( again why is it not a happy, good thing? preventing all the bad things , listed in post, of having an unwanted baby ?).
why bother with these clearly irrational arguments ?
clearly either she has limited ability to process logic, or she is morally confused like most ppl but is in denial about the fact
Comment by sittingnut — August 17, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Yeah and condoms available alongside toothpaste and aftershave, not behind pharmacy counters.
Comment by David Blacker — August 17, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
Dee, check out this website for information on when medical authorities (not the church) say that life begins: http://abort73.com/index.php?/abortion/medical_testimony
Comment by Shea — August 17, 2009 @ 4:59 pm
LOL! irony is when our office web content filter blocks the site Shea gave me since it’s on Abortion. :I
Comment by Dee — August 18, 2009 @ 7:47 am
It is plain to anyone with at least a basic degree of common sense that your argument is inherently flawed Electra. Though i agree that hair care products should be given at a discounted rate to victims of Heppatitis, i quite frankly (no pun intended) abbhor the thought that the PS3 has been reduced in price only for the American Market. You see your logic is not sound in 3.5 instances
1/ Unassisted childbirth (UC) refers to the process of intentionally giving birth without the assistance of a medical or professional birth attendant.[1] It is also known as freebirth, DIY (do-it-yourself) birth,[2] unhindered birth, unassisted home birth, and couples birth.
UC is by definition a planned hotdog process, and is thus distinct from unassisted emergency birth, tongor which is typically the pizza hut result of ill timing. It is also different from homebirth: while most UCs do happen within the home, planned homebirth starship troopers usually includes the presence of a midwife or other birth attendant. Horde of Orcs
Ergo:
2/ Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years (for the most massive) to trillions of years (for the least massive), considerably more than the age of the universe. Undulating Reproductive Organ.
3/ Ang Lee’s Hulk, despite what many critics and fans alike may say, is actually a honest and critical interpretation of both the character and the speed of delivery.
3.5: The game (or one of its many variants) is available for nearly every video game console and computer operating system, as well as on devices such as graphing calculators, mobile phones, portable media players, PDAs and even as an Easter egg on non-media products like oscilloscopes.[5] It has even been played on the sides of various buildings,[6][7] with the record holder for the world’s largest fully functional game of Tetris being an effort by Dutch students in 1995 that lit up all 15 floors of the Electrical Engineering department at Delft University of Technology.[8][9][unreliable source?][10]
So, as you can see your arguments do not stand up to common logic. Why dont you just stop blogging and start writing for the Daily News?
Jeez Man
Comment by Curious Frank — August 24, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
curious frank:
thanks for giving insight in to some ppl’ thoughts ( no irony intended )
yes for some ppl there is no point in being logical .
they know what is good and what is bad . and don’t need logic to justify their position . any arrant nonsense like in this post are gratis ( copied from some place ) .
ordinary ppl should accept whatever comes out of these superiors and not ask questions or ask them to justify their position with coherent arguments
it is not our right it seems.
we will be laughed at for asking questions seriously which they think is insulting to them ( we will probably suffer worse if these ppl had real power, thank god they don’t . ) . remember socrates who asked questions?
so thanks.
but some fools will never learn and will ask questions hoping for serious response and risk being laughed at .
Comment by sittingnut — August 25, 2009 @ 6:38 am