William T. Robinson, Jr.
Can you believe that we are still debating the right of a woman to have autonomy over her own body? Believe and feel what you must, but do you honestly believe you should have the right to force your beliefs on someone else, especially someone vehemently opposed to your position? There are numerous reasons a woman might want an abortion, but in the end, it should be her right to choose—right or wrong. You are entitled to believe what you want, whether pro-life or pro-choice. But you should not have the right to force your views on someone else when it pertains to their body.
Taking a religious position may be seen as honorable by Christians who are pro-life, but it is just as Christian and religious to try to understand the position and reasoning many women are taking to have an abortion. Many women would be willing to risk ‘back alley abortions’ to abort an unwanted fetus. Make no mistake, but the decision to abort a child is not an easy decision and is contingent on many pertinent factors. But when all is said and done, women are doing what they feel is best for them. The only judgment made should be between that woman and God.
All too often you find highly sanctimonious, undercover hypocrites looking the other way over most moral issues, but choosing to grandstand concerning their position on abortion. We see hypocrites supporting capital punishment, alternative truths (downright lies), pro-war proponents, racism, and overt immorality. However, they are adamant in their uncompromising stance against abortion.
One of the main opponents against abortions are old White men enacting legislation against abortion. As quietly as the secret is kept, some of these men have been involved in clandestine affairs, impregnating women and aiding them in ending their pregnancies. We all know clandestine abortions have been performed by private doctors on well-to-do, prominent women that are off the record. Affluent and well-to-do women will continue to have well-supervised abortions, while Black women and women of color will be negatively affected in their quest to obtain an abortion. Laws won’t keep women from having abortions, but there will be adverse affects resulting from the number of women dying from botched and unhealthy back-alley abortions.
Many are adamant about the rights of unborn children, but what about the rights of the numerous unwanted, unloved children forced to live a life of hell? We have a government grappling over funding for programs to aid children from poverty-stricken, destitute families struggling to make it day to day. And there are legislators within our bureaucracies crying foul play. They claim supplemental programs to aid these families are a burden and a drain on our economy. It’s enough to make the dead scream out about the hypocrisy of so many so-called righteous and holy people. Empathy should work both ways.
These legislators are unyielding in their view that women must carry to term unwanted children, even those conceived from rape and incest. These men are responsible for supporting and enacting laws negating the right of a woman to choose what is right for her body. Do you think if men were able to bare children their views would change?
The issue of pro-life and pro-choice have been politicized as a weapon used by self-serving demagogues to attain certain political offices in various districts. In fact, it is one of the rallying issues among many Republicans. No disrespect intended, but from their previous support of immorality and lies, most Republicans are in no position to legislate morality. As the old adages go: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” or “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” It is extremely difficult for a woman to have to make this choice, so let that judgment be between the woman and her God.
