As with all issues, this emotional issue has two sides. Based on the reactions of both sides, they are not listening to each-other. Insulting those with whom you disagree has become common, but there is a better way to resolve contrary opinions on any issue – the way of discussion.
Why do mothers choose Abortion? They are essentially three categories of reasons.
REASONS FOR CHOOSING ABORTION.
The first, and most common category, is for the convenience of the mother at the time of pregnancy. Inconvenient reasons include the mother’s: age, education, poverty, physical state, mental state, emotional state, etc.
The second category is that the baby is wanted, but the mother’s life is in danger if the baby continues to live during the pregnancy. Therefore, a difficult choice must be made between saving the mother’s life or saving the child’s. The third category is that the baby will not be able to survive independently as an adult.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISSUE.
The other side of this issue is the belief that each person has an eternal soul from the moment of conception. That soul cannot be destroyed. To those who believe this, abortion for convenience is the murder of their fellow human beings.
We are normally concerned when we hear about students being killed in a school shooting in the US, or the slaughter of civilians in the war in Ukraine. We are concerned because we see the victims as our fellow human beings. Slavery worked across generations because our fore-parents were perceived as less than human – and not the victims.
LISTENING TO EACH OTHER.
Both sides of this issue may feel the trauma of a mother, who is faced with the decision of aborting her baby so that she may live. Anyone may express an opinion on this matter. But only the mother has the right to make the final decision – which should never be judged by another human being. In Florida (where such statistics are measured), this amounted to 0.2% of abortions in 2020.
If a woman is raped, then again, while anyone may express an opinion on this matter, only the mother has the right to make the final decision. In Florida, rape and incest amounted to 0.16% of abortions in 2020.
If a baby is unable to develop to live independently, then the community must decide whether they will materially support those children from the cradle to the grave. That decision should help the mother make her decision. In Florida, serious abnormality of the baby amounted to 0.98% of abortions in 2020. Abortion for convenience consists of over 95% of the abortions in the US.
BARBADOS AND THE USA.
In Barbados, abortion for convenience is illegal [1]. Abortion is only allowed: (i) if the mother may die or be gravely injured by continuing the pregnancy, (ii) for rape or incest, or (iii) if the child were born, he/she would be seriously handicapped.
Barbados materially supports the disabled community. Barbados has also determined that a person has the right to life from the moment of conception, and no person can be arbitrarily deprived of that right [2].
Regardless of your opinion on abortion, we should pause to remember the over 60 million babies in the US, that were aborted for convenience since 1973 – when abortion for convenience was made legal. It was easy for adults to justify those abortions, once they convinced themselves that children still in their mothers’ wombs had no right to live.
Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com
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