The A Word

If I were a rich man....

Tonight, while perusing the site NoGodBlog.com, I came across a post about NoGodBlog.com: "ABORTION!!!". I am in sharp disagreement with my atheist brethren on this issue. Not to say that all atheists are for or against abortion - but anti-abortion types are also not just religious zeolots trying to run other people's lives. I am as much against the religious right and the fundies as the next atheist.

But, I believe in one thing: LIFE is prescious. We have one chance to make a difference in the world - this life. It is all we have - and I sincerely believe that when we die, we die and that is it - no afterlife, no redemption - no matter what you believed during this life. Cold and harsh - but I feel this is real.

I think abortion is murder. I know that scientifically, life does not actually "begin" in a sense at conception, and that the common thought is somewhere several weeks after conception where you could technically call it "life". But, nonetheless, you can't get to that point without conception and all the leads up to it, so, to me, life starts at conception. There may be a point when random things occur to make a woman miscarry or she has an accident or she doesn't realize she is pregnant, she drinks too much and the body "aborts" the fetus naturally. The religious type would attribute this to God intervening for whatever reason He only knows. Whatever.

I think it is about responsibility. If you are willing to do the deed (sex) and don't take necessary precautions or you get pregnant anyway (that 1% of birth control pill who do get pregnant), then you need to take responsibility and not make the child responsible for your irresponsibility. Abortion is an easy way out in a promiscuous society. Why should that life that was started be aborted?

The usual reasons for abortion range from not being married, can't afford it, don't know each other very well, etc. If you don't know each other very well, then why are you fornicating in the first place? Whether you agree with the Christian doctrine of no sex before marriage or not - the reason they have that as a rule is a sound reason - it stinks when you get pregnant without some plan and security - and people who do not subscribe to religion, like me, can come to this conclusion independent of religion.

This is not to say that I believe everyone should abstain from sex till marriage. Personally, I think that we shouldn't take sex so lightly, but we should have the freedom to try sex before marriage. But, only with people we are really committed to - why? - because of the purpose of us being on this earth - and that is to procreate.

It isn't that simple though. We don't live in some commune where every child is raised by everyone - we live in a society where the norm is that we get married and have children. This is not to say that if a single woman or man wants to have a child and raise it themself, without a spouse, that they shouldn't be allowed to do this. We are in a changing society where increasingly, children are being raised by unorthodox "families."

It is still about responsibility. Take resoonsibility for your life. And if you get pregnant and you feel the timing is horrible - there are choices other than abortion - adoption, family, etc. Not to say any choice is easy - but if you don't want to take a chance at being faced with the decision, then abstain from sex. Period. And don't give me that bullcrap of "I gotta have it" - that is just lack of self-control.

So, do I sound like some religious right person preaching my beliefs onto you? Well, if so, know this - I do not subscribe to any religion, but on this issue, I agree with the religious right ABORTION IS MURDER - period.

So - the next question - do I think abortion should be illegal? I think making it illegal will just push it underground and we all know the horrors of back alley abortions. Human nature means that a certain percentage of people will go to any length to have an abortion. Making it illegal at this point doesn't solve the issue. Making abortion less attractive and not as easy might work. Offer incentives to people to consider alternatives. I know that crack babies are not the high demand for adoption - and we have social ills that are hard to overcome. But if we truly value human life - and if you are a fellow atheist and know that this is it and all we have - and that life is prescious and it should be regarded in the highest terms, then why would you advocate killing babies?

Another key to combatting unwanted pregnancies and in turn abortions is responsible, age appropriate sex education I have read recently that rates of pregnancy and/or sex in abstinance only programs where a pledge of abstanance is taken, delays sex by only a few months in most cases. Solid information about contraception, responsible sexual behavior and frank discussion about the real threats of sex - AIDS and other STDs, can only help to prevent some pregnancies. Is it a panacea - no - humans, and especially young people, will not always make rational decisions. But a change in the thinking of society about sex and its importance, and how it should be regarded as special, can help drive the perceived need for abortion down.

As far as rape or incest goes - a life is still a life - but I really think that in these cases, it should be allowed.

Take life seriously and take your body seriously and live responsibly, and if you get in trouble, seek help.