Value of unborn life remains marginal

By CORIN SALNAVE

I have a message for those who are pro-life: Don’t have an abortion.

I believe the real question is: does a woman have the right to choose what is best for her own body and future, or does the government and pro-life believers have the right to make that decision for her?

If not for safe and legal abortions, a single mistake, rape or foolish youthful lack of decision-making could end a woman’s personal and economic freedom.

Let’s not forget that adoption is out there, but according to Planned Parenthood, “Abortions performed later in pregnancy may be more complicated but are still safer than labor and delivery.”

Every woman should make the decision for herself. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy, or an expulsion of an embryo or fetus. I respect the belief of many that life begins at conception or shortly after, but I strongly disagree.

No woman should ever be pressured to end her pregnancy; this much is true. However, she also should not be pressured to keep an unwanted child she is unprepared financially or mentally to bear, and then raise to adulthood for 18 or more years.

If it is so important to keep a fetus growing simply because it may someday become a person, I implore you to think this way the next time you bite into a tasty morsel of animal flesh. In addition to this way of thinking, many believe that people are more important than animals. I admit that if I were made to choose between an animal and a person, I would most likely choose the life of the human, but a fetus is not a person.

If a woman has a miscarriage, is she then a murderer? The answer is no. Then how can it be wrong to induce the miscarriage of an unwanted hunk of meat that has not yet grown pain receptors or any form of thought?

“We know for sure that the embryo or fetus cannot perceive pain in the nearly 99 percent of all abortions that occur before the 20th week of pregnancy. It is even possible that a fetus is unable to perceive pain at any time during pregnancy. If however, the ability to feel pain does develop before birth and consciousness, it is likely to happen only after the 28th week of pregnancy, when abortion is performed only for urgent medical reasons.” (plannedparenthood.org)

There are two forms of abortion that women should be aware of with prices ranging from $350 to $750. But prices can vary based on where you live.

The first is vacuum aspiration, which usually takes about 10 minutes and you can return to normal activities the next day. I am not saying that is would be fun, but it could save a rape victim from raising the rapist’s child or could save a 15-year-old girl from ruining her future and bearing a child she can’t take care of.

Another way to have an abortion is with several doses of medication. No instruments are used but bleeding may take a little longer. The medication induces a miscarriage that you can have in your own home.

There are many women who should not, or cannot, carry a child to term. I am one of those women. Because of earlier kidney failure, I cannot carry a healthy child. I’ll spare you the details, but if faced with the decision of whether to bear a child or have an abortion, I would choose abortion. No child should ever be born into the dire circumstances that many children would suffer. Many women out there share this problem with me. A woman’s health and happiness should always come first!

Most unplanned pregnancies happen to women that are too young, too poor or just not ready to have a child. They should not be forced to make a decision that is wrong for them. This is wrong! Especially in a society that vocalizes FREEDOM!

A woman is a thinking, feeling, conscious human being that should have the right to make her own decisions. That includes the choice of whether to continue a pregnancy.

A fetus is not a thinking, feeling or conscious human being.

One can set up a mousetrap or hunt without penance, but some consider the abortion of a human-like embryo to be wrong. That does not compute.

Everyone who is not currently pregnant and trying to make a decision as to her future should butt the hell out!

Information gathered from Planned Parenthood Federation of America. (plannedparenthood.org)