Posted on 01/26/2006 6:50:50 PM PST by AVNevis
Today, abortion has been championed as “a woman’s right” and described as a “liberty” by the United States Supreme Court. On January 22, 1973, in the Roe vs. Wade decision, the Supreme Court struck down individual state abortion laws and made abortion legal up until the time of birth in all fifty states. The Supreme Court says that “Roe is an integral part of a correct understanding of both the concept of liberty and the basic equality of men and women.”
Yet, our country is slowly realizing that this may not be true. Abortion hurts women’s equality and degrades all women. In this essay, I will explain how women, as a result of on-demand abortion, are seen as inferior to men and how in actuality, it is the pro-abortion attitude that impairs women both born and unborn. This impairment does not only affect women who have abortions, but all women, those in the past, present and future
First, let us examine women from our past. In the last hundred years, women have seen enormous progress in gaining equal rights with men, only to have abortion destroy many of those rights and liberties. Women suffragists led the campaign for women’s rights, and the vast majority of these women were very strongly anti-abortion. Susan B. Anthony, one of the most widely recognized feminists, said, “I deplore the horrible crime of child murder… No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed… but oh! Thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime.” Susan B. Anthony’s newspaper, The Revolution, stated that, “When a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is a sign that, by education or circumstances, she has been greatly wronged.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton said that “When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we wish.” Mary Wollstonecraft condemned those who would “either destroy the embryo in the womb, or cast it off when born.” Victoria Woodhull, the first female presidential candidate, said "The rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the foetus." and "Every woman knows that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth." Thus, early feminists in the past understood that abortion is a symptom of inequality and exploitation, and certainly not a solution for women.
However, for present women, many “modern feminists” have moved away from this abhorrence of abortion. Dr. Joycelyn Elders, a former U.S. Surgeon General, said, "We really need to get over this love affair with the fetus...” and the National Organization of Women’s rallying cry is “My Body, My Choice.” Now, unfortunately, women and feminism are associated with abortion, instead of against it. The availability of abortion on-demand has made what the early feminists predicted become a reality. There are an estimated 3,700 abortions a day in the United States. That translates to an estimated 43% of all women having at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. It has been shown through many studies that abortion is tied to life-long emotional and physical problems for those involved. A study in Finland found that "The suicide rate after an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six times that associated with birth.... the rate for women following a live birth was 5.9 per 100,000; following miscarriage 18.1; following abortion 34.7." In a study by the Elliot Institute, researchers found that of the women surveyed, “those who aborted their first pregnancy were 3.9 times more likely to engage in subsequent drug or alcohol abuse than those who have never had an abortion." The physical risks of abortion may include breast cancer, cervical, ovarian, and liver cancer, uterine perforation, cervical lacerations, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and problems with future pregnancies.
Because abortion has been described as “a woman’s choice” to be decided “between her and her physician,” even the father, by law has no say in whether their baby lives or dies, and is rarely even there to witness the process. Because women, not men, directly and personally experience the pain of abortion, women often carry a long-term emotional burden that men, for the most part, do not. This inequitable burden can be a very heavy yoke of guilt and regret, hobbling women from achieving their full potential and happiness. Rather than abortion “liberating” women to make them equal with men, abortion restrains and impairs women from functioning normally alongside men, hurting women for a lifetime.
Although those that are pro-abortion state that abortion is a woman’s right and choice, they are against a truly informed choice. Indeed, even the Supreme Court (476 U.S. at 762, Thornbough) said that information “may serve only to confuse and punish her and to heighten her anxiety.” This implies that a woman does not have the strength to deal with truthful information about, according to the Supreme Court, her “right to terminate her pregnancy.” Responding to pictures of aborted babies, surprisingly, even feminist author and abortion advocate Naomi Wolf says “To insist that the truth is in poor taste is the very height of hypocrisy. Besides, if these images are often the facts of the matter, and if we then claim that it is offensive for pro-choice women to be confronted by them, then we are making the judgment that women are too inherently weak to face a truth about which they have to make a grave decision. This view of women is unworthy of feminism. Free women must be strong women, too: and strong women, presumably do not seek to cloak their most important decisions in euphemism." One of reasons women were denied the right to vote was that they, as women, could not “handle” the issues and information. This view of women was harmful back then, and it certainly does not empower women now. The sole result is that women are kept ignorant of the risks, complications, and alternatives to this “fundamental right” to end life. However, with more women speaking out against abortion, especially with deep personal regrets over their own “choice”, this is bound to change. There will be a new generation of feminists who are pro-woman, pro-child, and pro-life. Only then will women be truly empowered.
Abortion, again, known by pro-abortionists as a woman’s right, hurts the equality of future women. It is now used as the method of eliminating unwanted females across the globe. In China, according to the most recent official figures, “119 boys are born in China for every 100 girls, largely because parents abort baby girls to try for a boy." In India, “the number of girls per 1,000 boys fell to 927” in 2001. In some cases, this preference for boys has caused infanticide against girls. The procedure that “liberates” women to be equal with men is actually the main cause of inequality in the future.
Finally, and most importantly, let us look at abortion in light of the gospel. Suppose a fourteen-year-old girl is unmarried and feeling the pressures of an unplanned pregnancy. In our country today, this would be an example of when, according to those who are “pro-choice”, abortion would be necessary. Yet, 2000 years ago, this young woman was the mother of the Son of God. Jesus could have easily been an “unwanted” child, but Mary had the strength and courage to say “yes” to God and His gift of life. Jesus himself tells us that, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” and “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Therefore, I encourage everyone to follow Christ’s example by offering compassion and love, helping women by making sure that they do have information and alternatives, so that abortion is rare and an unthinkable “choice”. After all, not only does abortion hurt the unborn child; it hurts women’s equality, degrading individual women of the past, present, and future.
Is this one of the girls who won the essay contests at the March for Life? (Essay contests are held every year, and the winners of the various age groups are introduced at the rally before the March.)
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