February 13, 2015

Thoughts on a topic I'd rather avoid

One issue I don't usually work on or say much about is abortion. I really understand how people feel on all sides of this issue. However, since the WV House of Delegates passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest, I feel compelled to speak up.

Here's what I really think, which probably won't win me any friends on any side:

There is a huge difference between making something illegal and making it go away. See Prohibition, war on drugs, etc. When it comes to abortion, I'd prefer the latter, in the sense of trying as much as possible to eliminate the conditions which drive people to consider it, legally or otherwise.

And may I just observe that there is a big difference between being pro-birth and being pro-life. Some people who are loudest when it comes to legislating about the uteri of others seem to lose interest in the fetus after it gets here. But here's the deal: as Jethro Tull sang, "Life's a long song." If one claims to be for it, one should put up or shut up and try to make it as decent as possible for as many people as possible all the way to the end of the line.


2 comments:

Moonmuse said...

I have said the same thing for years, Rick. How can one be so radically pro-birth, call it "pro-life", and then show absolutely no concern about the misery in the world of that tiny, defenseless life after it comes in the world?

Hollowdweller said...

I'd bet that if we had 6 weeks of paid maternity leave and paid vacations and sick days like the rest of the world has and universal health care you'd have a HELL of a lot less abortions.