Abortion and Accountability

Today, an article I wrote was published in The Polytechnic! Unfortunately, the College Republican's column, of which my article was the first, is not yet on the online version of the newspaper. Therefore, I have decided to post the full, unabridged article here (not the version that was in The Poly).

Abortion and Accountability

As I hear more and more about abortion, and what it seems to mean to society today, I become more and more against it. In today’s society, abortion seems to be used mainly as a way to get out of claiming responsibility for one's actions. Of course, one only really hears about "well, what about victims of rape and incest?" In one article I came across months ago that examined the abortion issue (“The mysterious disappearance of young pro-choice women,” from the August 2005 issue of Glamour Magazine), such women were not even mentioned. This confirms my suspicion that the rape and incest argument is used as a cover-up for supporters of abortion, to make them look acceptable in the eyes of society. 'We aren't excusing the killing of babies; we are saving women from the mental damage of being reminded that they were raped.'

This ruse is so widely publicized that many believe it, but to me it is a thinly-veiled excuse to achieve a political means. All of the women in this aforementioned article who chose to have abortions or take the morning-after pill in this above-mentioned article were women who knowingly had sex without using protection. They were unmarried, and all of them knew the risk of getting pregnant. None of them were even women whose protection failed. Why were none of women interviewed victims of rape and incest, and what would their views be if they had been included?

I have seen it mentioned in many places that many women today are more pro-life simply because they know they have the right to abortion if they ever need it. I suppose that women in the 60s wanted abortion as a way to command control of their bodies, when men and women were still on largely unequal footing. Societal views of sex are simply not the same as they were back then. Women are much more knowledgeable and in control of their sexuality now. Not only that, but society is so open about sex: sex in movies, on TV, in sex-education classes in schools, to name a few... it's simply impossible for women to claim not to understand basic sex-related issues.

Therefore, when a woman who knows that she can become pregnant but still chooses to have sex, she needs to be ready for the responsibility of having a child. I repeat, when a woman decides that she is going to have sex, she is accepting the possibility of having a child and the responsibility that goes along with it. Having sex and then aborting the baby is NOT taking responsibility, it is an easy way out; a way to deny any liability for making a possibly life-altering choice. There is no such thing as an "unintended pregnancy" among women who make the choice to have sex, knowing that they could become pregnant. "Stuff" doesn't just happen to these women. They know exactly what they are doing, and they need to hold themselves accountable for any consequences. I hope that the increase in pro-life women is not because women today take the availability of abortion for granted, but because they are choosing to take responsibility for these consequences.

Another related form of irresponsibility is demonstrated by women who choose to have abortions. These women are putting themselves at risk for many health problems, such as infection, shock, reproductive damage, death, and increased risk for some types of cancer, to name a few. Many women also suffer from psychological issues after having an abortion, including post traumatic stress disorder, as well as repression, denial, and regret that lead to nervous disorders and sleep disturbances. Refusal to take care of one's body and keep it healthy by not exposing it to such dangers is a very damaging form of irresponsibility, as is not keeping people informed of these risks.

A huge part of being a strong human being is accountability for one's actions, and this responsibility is also part of being a strong woman. Unfortunately, the women who are more vocal about feminine issues, those who are more visible to the public, are the "feminists" who support abortion. These “strong women” should stand for the personal responsibility and accountability, which is part of being a human, but instead they contradict this. They discourage women from taking responsibility for their health and their sex lives. Instead of encouraging women to dodge liability by getting abortions, feminists should advocate sexual responsibility through abstinence and the use of contraceptives.

Don't bother with hate comments.

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