More sinned against than sinning

I watched a very thought-provoking video clip on You Tube today entitled the Libertyville Abortion Demonstration. A group of pro-life supporters with posters depicting aborted fetuses was interviewed by a reporter who asked the demonstrators two questions:

1. Should abortion be illegal? Of course, they all said yes.
2. If it were illegal, what penalty should be applied to the mother?

Amazingly, and regrettably, no one questioned had thought about that matter. What followed was a pretty embarrassing display of stammering and stuttering. I must add for balance, however, that some of the respondents did show a good deal of compassion for the women in question.

Naturally the video got me thinking about how I would have answered the same two questions. With my thoughts still somewhat in a jumble, here is my stab at some answers. I invite y.m.f.r. (you, my faithful reader) to respond with your own great thoughts.

First the question of the legality and illegality of abortions. Whether abortions are legal or illegal, the following pertain:

a. Many women, especially the younger ones, get pregnant without benefit of a marital partner or at least a stable, long-term relationship. [75% of abortions are performed on unmarried women, mostly in their teens and twenties. Well over half of pregnant teenage girls in Canada abort their babies.]

b. Many of these women are manipulated into having the abortions through misleading information (e.g.,it's just a mass of cells; abortion will never interfere with your future fertility; abortion is a routine operation), threats of abandonment, pressure from embarrassed parents, boyfriends, and so on. In other words, the mother is not necessarily the one pushing for the abortion to happen.

c. Those counseling women to have an abortion may be in a conflict of interests. There is big money in abortion provision. Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the U.S. Their revenues for 2006 amounted to some $900 million USD, of which $305 million was provided through government grants and contracts, and another $345 million in "clinic income."

d. The often sexually irresponsible movie industry displays physical intimacy as largely a recreational activity where no one ever suffers emotionally or physically and women seldom get pregnant. The kids swallow this stuff whole. A 2003 study of Canadian youth done by the Council of Ministers of Education and funded by Health Canada found that adolescents in Canada are sexually active but have relatively low levels of contraception and condom use. Although many young people know about contraception and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), they often fail to take necessary precautions. They are frequently too embarrassed to purchase condoms, for instance. They also believe many myths, such as this astonishing one: a woman can't become pregnant or contract an STI the first time she has sex.

Is it any wonder, then, that STIs for young people under 18 are nine times higher than the overall Canadian rate. They don't feel comfortable to talk to their family doctor about such matters, and have no idea to whom else they can turn.

Given such realities as these, I believe that women who abort their babies are often more sinned against than sinning. To address the problem of unplanned pregnancies and subsequent abortions by simply making them illegal and punishing the mothers lets the real perpetrators off scot free (like jailing the sex trade workers and ignoring the johns).

Therefore, rather than talk about illegalities, let's discuss the multitudinous alternatives to abortion that are on offer from many agencies and churches. Let's discuss proper sex education that emphasizes more than so-called safe sex (which the kids are ignoring at any rate). Let the alleged pro-choice groups begin to encourage the life arguments that lead to healthier lifestyles for young women and men, rather than opposing pro-life groups at every turn. If you are really pro-choice, then encourage all of the arguments--don't stifle them.

Now for the issue of penalties. When the U.S.A. introduced prohibition (i.e., of the legal sale of alcohol), they simply spawned a huge underworld industry that provided criminals with enormous income. We have seen something like that with increased taxes on cigarettes--as the price of smokes went up so did the incidents of tobacco smuggling. The government has learned from this and turned to remedies such as appropriate education concerning the results of smoking and support for those who want to quit. The result has been a precipitous drop in the number and percentage of smokers in Canada and the U.S.

I believe that if women (and men) had access to the full and truthful information about fetal development, the dangers of careless sexual intimacy, alternatives to abortion, the amount of support available to those in crisis pregnancies and so on, that we would see a similar drop in the incidents of abortion.

But there are at least two groups who have shown little interest in such remedies. One is Hollywood of course. The big money in entertainment is by appealing to base instincts. The other is a large chunk of the pro-choice movement. They seem to want to squelch the expression of opinion and information on the pro-life side, argue for open season on unborn babies, and wash their hands of the whole business. Pilates all.