Sixty million children killed since 1973
Democrats call abortion a "right". Maybe it is a choice for the electorate to make.
American voters are deeply divided on the issue of abortion, something now called a “right” by the left. Let me be clear - I am sympathetic to the idea that a woman should not be compelled to have children and should have the ability to control her own body. I am also inclined to believe that abortion is a remedy that is fatal to the child and not always healthy for the mother. There are many circumstances where abortion is a necessary and life saving procedure. But the decision to end a child’s life should not be whimsical.
With sixty million abortions since Roe v Wade was released in 1973 it sounds like most abortions were for convenience, a sort of after-the-fact birth control The hordes of Democrats protesting for hours in front of the Supreme Court which has yet to release any decision on whether Roe v Wade is going to be upheld or overturned seem not only premature in their protests but also a bit self-serving. If you can spend 12 hours standing outside the Supreme Court in protest perhaps you could spend 5 minutes in a drug store to buy condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Planned Parenthood is a national organization promoting access to abortion. Or is it? Founded by Elizabeth Sanger, a white supremacist, Planned Parenthood was motivated by Sanger’s desire to stem the growth in the black population, not by some empathy for victims of rape, incest or otherwise having a good reason to want to have an abortion. It worked. Despite African Americans comprising about 13% of U.S. population, about 38% of all abortions are by black women. That is a long way from “Black lives matter”. America is a rich country and has the resources to make it possible for black Americans to enjoy every opportuntiy for economic success rather than overtly trying to limit the growth and prosperity of the black community.
In any event, the Supreme Court decision once released will do nothing to make abortions illegal in America. If Roe v Wade is overturned it will punt the issue of abortions to state legislatures and the democratic process of election will determine who populates those legislatures and what laws they enact, including laws allowing or denying abortion to the citizens of that State. That is the way democracy works.
The screams that laws that differ across states makes abortion inaccessible to many people seem a bit hollow. Those people can avoid pregnancy by avoiding unprotected sex, readily obtained since the development of the birth control pill and the technological breakthrough called the condom. If an unwanted pregnancy does occur, the mother wishing an abortion can take advantage of one of the three hundred million vehicles in operation in America and drive to another State where abortions are permitted. She might take an hour or two to discuss that decision with a professional therapist to understand the risks she might face either way.
The world is horrified by the Holocaust where six million people, largely Jewish or gay, were murdered by the Nazi’s during WWII, but seem indifferent to the killing of 60 million children often for the convenience of the pregnant mother. The mental health damage to that mother arising from the inescapable feeling of shame and guilt that often accompanies a decision to abort a child is another consequence, and cannot be dismissed out of hand. With a population of 60 million abortions in the past 50 years, there are bound to be thousands of geniuses whose contribution to society was stemmed by their mother’s decision to end a pregnancy.
I am growing tired of people elevating their preferences and choices to the level of “rights”. Grow up and accept the fact that decisions you take have consequences and you are responsible for them. Putative fathers should have some say in this issue as well.
The economic consequences of an unwanted child cannot be ignored but society can readily make it possible for those to be borne by governments if that is what society chooses as an alternative to ending pregnancies for solely economic reasons. In democracies, we have choices and the abortion issue is complex, nuanced and not black and white (except in the case of Ms. Sanger, apparently).
I am pleased I live in Canada where our Parliament approved a Charter of Rights and a Constitution which, in the Morgantaler case in 1988 saw the Supreme Court of Canada uphold a woman’s Constitutional 1right to the autonomy of her own body and affirm the legality of abortions. That is how democracy is supposed to work - our elected representatives enacted legislation and our Courts upheld it. While I think the unfettered right of a woman to end a pregnancy went too far, I accept our laws as passed and abide by them.
America needs to let the democratic process unfold. If American voters want a national law permitting abortions, they can surely elect a government that will enact such legislation, and if they prefer that decision lie to the States they can have that outcome as well (which is likely if the Supreme Court overturns Roe). It is not a matter for nine appointed judges to impose on society whichever way Roe is now decided.
R v Morgentaler, [1988] 1 SCR 30