My Stance On Abortion

Pro-choice? Pro-abortion? This is one of the greatest debates and polarized subjects in the United States in our time. The fact that such an important topic, such an important human right, is narrowed down to the simple words “pro-choice” or “pro-life”, goes to show the peril of the situation that we are in. Abortion rights are incredibly complex and intricate for humans. Much of the media, politics and humanity have become polarized on this topic, but the reality is that people’s opinions are widely diverse, and their beliefs exist on a spectrum that overlaps the ideas of what’s called the pro-choice movement and what’s called the pro-life or anti-abortion movement. The reality is that most people probably have beliefs that fall between these labels, when you look deeper. But, on the surface of the polarized topic, it appears that there are only two opposing beliefs.

Before I go into my stance on this issue, I first had to make clear my stance on the state of the political debate and the divide in our society. As with many topics, I believe the divide has been intentional for certain political gains or power. And since I am launching into such a polarized topic, I felt that I must address that first.

Now, onto my stance on abortion. I have a stance that comes from a blend of idealism, which is what I’d ideally like to see, and from realism, which is based on what I believe is possible given the state that humanity is in. I look at this from a blend of what I’d love to see and what I think is practical for humanity. For the sake of humanity, I am absolutely an advocate for abortion being available. I believe that abortion is part of the overall equation of providing dignity of life to humanity.

Of course, abortion is not my first choice. Avoiding getting pregnant when a child is not desired is always going to be my ideal first choice over an abortion. However, in a humanity of eight billion people, living under many circumstances, there are many scenarios where this just isn’t the case, and there are many scenarios where I think having an abortion can be overall the most humane thing for both an individual life and for humanity. There are certain circumstances in which it is incredibly inhumane for abortion not to be an option, such as when a woman is raped and becomes pregnant. It is crystal clear to me that a woman should have the option to not have that child. She is totally within her rights to not be forced to have a child with someone with whom she did not want to have a child. There are situations in which the child is likely to be born in a state that would be inhumane or would be a state of incredible suffering. Standing objectively, if the abortion will create less suffering for the individual and for humanity, then I am a supporter of an abortion in that scenario.

There are many times in which a woman realizes she is pregnant and is not in a position to  raise a child. I absolutely support those humans; girls, women and men, choosing not to raise that child, rather than create a scenario where that child may be neglected and not get what they need in life, not get their basic human needs met. This especially applies to girls and young women who are still figuring out who they are when they get pregnant. Again, ideally, this couple would not get pregnant in the first place, but I am looking at what is the best scenario overall to reduce suffering. When you look at the state of the world and you look at the state of humanity’s relationship with Earth, it is clear that more neglected humans are not the solution that humanity needs.

On a personal note, I have chosen not to have children myself. In fact, I got a vasectomy at the age of 25. However, I believe that having children is one of the most beautiful things that we can do. I am absolutely an advocate for having children. It is one of the most basic human rights, one of the basic human joys. For many of us, it gives us purpose and brings great meaning to our lives. I understand how precious the life of a baby or a child is to so many of us, and how so many feel pain at the idea of a life being ended or prevented due to an abortion. However, it is a great detriment to humanity to only see the pain in a child not being born and not see the pain in a child being born who is not going to be loved and not going to have their basic needs met. Sure, there is an opportunity lost. Life is beautiful, life is precious, but the reality is we have a lot of life. There is a lot of life to cherish; there are billions of human beings to cherish. And I do not believe that it is an overall detriment to humanity for people to choose not to have these children.

I’d like to add that I am not a person who adheres to any religion. I know that a lot of people have a stance on abortion that is associated with their religion’s stance on abortion. At the same time, when you look at the statistics within these religions, there is still a wide variance of people within the same religion and their beliefs on abortion. I do not look at issues like these from the frame of a particular religion or from a specific set of rules. I try to look at it objectively from a wider lens, from a wider view.

Now, we also live in a society that is very male dominated. Most of the laws have been created by a political system that is male dominated. Most of the laws that govern women’s lives have been primarily created by men. Denying abortions are the decisions of a male-dominated political system. I simply believe in women being able to make choices for their own bodies, so I am in complete support of women being able to choose to have an abortion. I am in support of a woman choosing to have a child, and I am in support of a woman choosing not to have a child. I am not in support of any laws that make abortions inaccessible or illegal. I strongly support women’s bodily autonomy. Currently, the state of our humanity is male domination and making it illegal to have an abortion is just another way of controlling women.

Not only am I a supporter of abortion being an option, but I am also a supporter of abortion being widely available. Again, my stance is that we need overall better education. We need more responsibility being taken to prevent undesired pregnancies in the first place. However, currently, I think that having widely available abortion access is in the best interest of humanity.

Overall, I am a strong advocate for drastically reducing involvement or participation in the highly monetized Western medical world. They call it healthcare, but the reality is that the whole system is built on profiting from people’s lack of good health. So I want to be clear that I do not push for a world where we have unnecessary medical procedures and pharmaceuticals, and that includes abortion.

So ideally, we would see programs and funding that would help to reduce the number of abortions performed. I’d see this through education, through women’s empowerment, through mental healthcare, through creating a society that respects and loves one another, and by educating boys to respect girls and women. In my ideal, we would be taking a much more holistic approach to prevention. But again, in humanity’s current state, I believe that making abortion widely available and accessible is of the highest interest to reduce suffering and overall improve quality of life.

I am not saying that abortion is just. A life is ending, not by their own choice. But bringing a child into the world when the resources aren’t there to fully provide, or without full desire, is not just either.

There is so much that I can say on this topic, but this is my basic stance. I am not pro-life, I am not pro-choice. I am an advocate for basic human rights. I am an advocate for women’s rights. I am a person who is in love with humanity and Earth, and is working diligently to stay outside of polarization, and inside compassion.