The abortion debate seem to have two sides. You’re either pro choice or pro life. If asked which I am of those two options tI would describe myself as vehemently pro-choice. But given the opportunity to expand that answer I think I would more properly describe myself as anti-life. By that I mean I don’t accept that all life is sacred (obviously as I am a godless heathen and I don’t think anything is sacred) and I don’t accept being alive is automatically an unconditional good. I believe that quick and where possible painless euthanasia should be available for judicious use where circumstances would otherwise dictate someone being condemned to a continued existence of pain, misery and humiliation. And by the same token I believe the abortion of an foetus should be an option where the alternative is bringing a human being into a world without the capacity to look after it.
One of the problems I have with the pro-life movement is that unborn babies are a moral crusade inutero, but once born they becomes statistics. If we lived in a world whereby any child was guaranteed a safe happy upbringing even if their own parents were somehow unable to provide that for them, then perhaps I would have more sympathy for someone who genuinely believes all life is sacred. But that isn’t the case.
In the big abortion debate, pregnancies as a result of rape or incest are frequently accepted as grounds where abortion is ‘ok’. But thanks to comments from the likes of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock these cases are under renewed debate. In an ENTIRELY HYPOTHETICAL situation I wonder how these men would feel in the event that their semen was forcibly extracted and used to fertilize a viable ovum. Would they be prepared to take responsibility for the ensuing child, or feel comfortable placing it in the care system? Or might they feel that as parenthood was forced upon them against their wishes, it would be better that the pregnancy didn’t continue.
For the record I think that some elements of the care system are great, and there are some amazing foster parents and adoptive parents who do a fantastic job. But I also think that it is cruel and irresponsible to portray as immoral women who choose to abort rather than carry to term a baby they feel they can’t look after, whether or not that has anything to do with the circumstances of the conception.