A friend calls- “Hey, come over to my house. I need to talk.” The recipient of this call slowly gets ready to go and help out their friend in need. Or maybe not even go at all, justifying they have more important matters to tend to. New scenario---
A friend calls- “Hey, come over to my house. This is life or death, seriously. I need to talk.” How does the friend react now? They surely do not leisure about on their way out, much less make up an excuse not to go.
It is true that clichés have an honest impact on our interpretations of what someone is telling us.
“Life or death” is used to place an extreme emphasis on the importance of a decision to be made or a situation. So we all agree that a “life or death” situation is an utterly important one-- especially if it is to be taken literally. With elections just around the corner, there are plenty of decisions and situations that are extremely pertinent to our country and to our lives. Of all these issues, there is one that is unreservedly one of life or death: abortion. Someone reading this right now has had the opportunity to live- to experience joy, pain, to learn and grow, to enjoy the arts and food and life! Are we going to deny that right to another human being?
People have issues sometimes. People have complications sometimes. Sometimes it is between convenience and a child. Sometimes it is between a mother’s life and the child’s. Sometimes it is between comfort and a child. There are so many reasons to abort a fetus; and they can be justifiable, and they can be right, and they can make perfect sense. How awful to have to choose between a mother’s life and a child’s? How terrifying the thought of never having a normal life again because of an unexpected baby. How unfair that a victim of rape or incest has to carry around with them for nine months a baby that reminds them of a bad event they never want to remember. And it is; it is awful, and it is terrifying and it is unfair- but I know what it is not. Is it not the fault of these innocent infants. It is only natural for a baby to grow in his mother’s belly until it is ready to enter the world, and that is all they are doing. How or why they are in their mother’s womb is not their choice. So why punish them? As Americans, we believe “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life…” That is from our Declaration of Independence. The document that claimed our nation free of Britain, that marked our individuality as a country, that set the standard for laws, that gave Americans hope and motivation, that we cherish for its power, the document that makes our country ours. It was not written, lives were not given and taken, heartache was not felt, and sacrifice was not made in its defense for it to be ignored. It is every man’s right to live. We declared this as a nation. A growing fetus in the womb is a human that has been created and is therefore equal to all other humans that have been created, whether born or unborn. Are we going to deny this right to a guiltless fetus? If abortion is not viewed as morally wrong on a religious stand point, then it should be considered literally unconstitutional.
“Although the majority of pregnancies are uneventful, sometimes complications do occur.” I found this information on http://www.nyp.org/health/pregnant_complcat.html, but it is not the only sight that has these words verbatim. Take a note there- “the majority of pregnancies are uneventful.” In those rare cases, however, that a mother’s life is in danger for bearing her child, she should not be forced to die for the child to live if she does not wish. Only then should an abortion ever be performed, and still it is not ethical. Abortion under these circumstances should only be considered because if the government states that the mother must die over the child, that is in itself unconstitutional, for they are killing the mother and denying her right to live. It is just as much murder as the abortion itself. If every man has a right to live, and it is between one man and another, the government has no place to decide who stays and who goes- that is between the people in jeopardy. There are other justifiable reasons to abort a fetus. Justifiable, however, does not mean “right and good.” Something justifiable is “capable of being shown as reasonable” (Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.). Benjamin Franklin claimed that there is “convenience [in] being reasonable.” And that is just what abortion is being performed for: the mother or the family’s convenience. Convenience at the expense of another is not right- maybe justifiable, but never right. Whether it be convenience on terms of the mother living a “normal” teenage life, or not having a her child because it is “too painful” as she is a rape or incest victim, or because the child will have a birth defect. There is no reason that is completely “right” or “good” to have an abortion- only reasons capable of being reasonable.
I believe people forget of the blessing of adoption. They think “bear or abort” are their only options. This country needs to learn to take advantage of adoption. Teenagers who made mistakes (as we all do and we would never blame them, until they kill their fetus) could still have a “normal” life without aborting their child. Give it up for adoption. That is what we have it for: incapable or unwilling mothers. Mothers or mothers-to-be without the finances to support an unexpected baby, give it up for adoption. Women who do not believe they can efficiently raise a child that will have a birth defect, give it up for adoption. Rape or incest victims- it is truly one of the worst experiences that a person can go through, but I have never found a woman happy that she had an abortion- true I have not met all women, true I have not read all articles and stories on the topic, but I do know that with abortion comes much heartache. Would aborting the child really make the life of the victim better. No; it would only add to the heartache. If the victim really believes the having the child will cause so much remorse, they should give it up for adoption. Concerning birth defects: those mothers who abort a child because they do not believe it possible for it to be happy with its birth defect, consider this; can anyone know true joy without knowing any remorse? Can anyone honestly experience pleasure without ever experiencing pain? I once felt sorry for people with birth defects, and I one day came to the realization that I should not be after a friend told me about her mentally retarded brother, “Kimberly, he is happy. He doesn’t view himself as ’retarded’. He is just another person.” Why would we want to ruin this for my friend’s brother by promoting abortion for someone who will be like him. What would a person think with blonde hair if they suddenly heard everyone saying, “My child is going to have blonde hair. Oh no, I guess I will have to abort it.”? I know what I would think- “What is wrong with me?” Well, I have news for America- there is nothing wrong with anyone with a birth defect. There is something wrong, however, with aborting these children. We learn and grow from these people. They teach us, if nothing else, to be grateful to be blessed with a sound mind and body. If there is anyone who learns and grows from trials and hardships, it is people who first have to struggle- people with problems to bear, people with difficulties to face. Those who lead a perfect life learn nothing from it.
Controversy over abortion has gone on for years, and it is time someone put their foot down on it, making it totally illegal, acceptable only in circumstances where the mother’s life is at risk. What president will do that for us? Choose wisely the candidate, for it is a life or death decision.
Kimberly Cunningham
