Monday, February 07, 2005
The conversion of a pro-abort
During my time as an "escort" for the Commonwealth Women's Center, I had my first moment of doubt about the validity of the pro-abortion cause. My parents and I were on our way home from the clinic. Dad was driving. About halfway home, I asked my parents, "If women don't want to be pregnant, why don't they just not have sex? Why is abortion the answer?" My parents were shocked into silence for a moment, and then they started rationalizing. I had spent too much time on clinic defense duty. I had spent too much time with these crazy pro-lifers. (Ironically, I don't recall the pro-life protesters ever posing the question that I had raised.) I was "confused", "troubled", and "wounded". I simply needed some time away from the clinic. In all fairness, they might have tried to address the substance of my questions, but I don't recall their answers if they did. I do recall that they were much more concerned with soothing my troubled teenage spirit than with answering the question head-on.
Fortunately, I drifted away from pro-abortion activism when I went to college. My views hadn't changed, though. I developed a long-term relationship with a young woman who lived in my freshman hall. Our relationship became sexual. Before we "did the deed", we tried to pretend that were were responsible by deciding on birth control options. We both felt that we weren't ready to be parents yet, so we agreed that we would use birth control. I went a step further. What if the birth control failed? What would we do then? I suggested abortion as a sensible "backup plan" for our birth control. My girlfriend agreed with me. Thank God we never had to use my "backup plan"! After our relationship had ended, a number of her former friends told me the truth about her "agreement". Actually, she never thought she could go through with an abortion. She just agreed with me because she didn't see any other options. Now, I wonder ... how many women agree to abortions because they feel trapped by others? How many women abort their children because they feel pressured by men who don't want to accept the consequences of their actions? Who says that abortion is a matter of women's rights, anyway?
Fortunately, I drifted away from pro-abortion activism when I went to college. My views hadn't changed, though. I developed a long-term relationship with a young woman who lived in my freshman hall. Our relationship became sexual. Before we "did the deed", we tried to pretend that were were responsible by deciding on birth control options. We both felt that we weren't ready to be parents yet, so we agreed that we would use birth control. I went a step further. What if the birth control failed? What would we do then? I suggested abortion as a sensible "backup plan" for our birth control. My girlfriend agreed with me. Thank God we never had to use my "backup plan"! After our relationship had ended, a number of her former friends told me the truth about her "agreement". Actually, she never thought she could go through with an abortion. She just agreed with me because she didn't see any other options. Now, I wonder ... how many women agree to abortions because they feel trapped by others? How many women abort their children because they feel pressured by men who don't want to accept the consequences of their actions? Who says that abortion is a matter of women's rights, anyway?
