Right to Life Association
of South Australia
Decision to abort made at the wrong time
Her body may feel like it is completely upside down, and her emotions with it.
As well as this she is often feeling the full effects of morning sickness and these circumstances coupled with the fact that the pregnancy may have been unplanned, can overwhelm her.
If she is under duress and pressure to abort she may very well cave in at this time, regretting it later.
However, by 12 weeks of pregnancy her hormonal levels have usually adjusted and it is common for women to report that they feel on top of the world once the morning sickness symptoms disappear.
Women often ‘bloom’ during pregnancy and they are often greeted with observations that they are ‘radiant’ and ‘never looked better’.
At this stage a woman is in a better frame of mind to come to terms with an unplanned pregnancy and is able to make the necessary adjustments to face the new life ahead of her.
Language of illusion
‘Every child should be a wanted child’. At the heart of this appeal is a self-centredness that makes the value of children dependent on the affections of others. This makes the child a victim, not of his or own shortcomings, but rather of those who would try to solve social, economic or personal problems by sacrificing children.
It focuses on the wishes of the parents, ignoring options such as adoption as a viable alternative. There is a large unfulfilled demand for adoption by committed couples unable to have their own children.
It doesn’t tell us anything about the child in question. “Wantedness’ measures our emotions and our feelings. The measure of humanity is not that there are no unwanted ones among us but what we do with those who are unwanted.
‘Every woman has the right to control her own body’. Fair? Not when it is used to defend abortion, because commonsense and modern science both recognise that in pregnancy there are two bodies and two lives involved.
Woman, by dictionary definition, means ‘female human being’. Since sex is determined at conception and over half of babies conceived are ‘female human beings’, then, obviously, not every woman has the right to control her own body – the baby girl is not able to have a say.
Rights of individuals, because of the inter-relation of all life, are limited when they infringe on the rights of others. Apart from abortion, when else may a person, in pursuit of a career, degree, lifestyle option or personal interest, have the legal right to kill an innocent, defenceless person, even if she perceives that they may be standing in her way?
Control, which involves responsibility and restraint, should be exercised before exposing one’s body to the possibility of pregnancy. Abortion seeks to replace self-control by demanding instead the right to control the life of someone else.
Her own body is not a full description of a pregnant body, since science shows us that in pregnancy there are two different bodies, two different heartbeats, two different brainwave patterns, two different blood types, and in half of the number of pregnancies, two different sexes.
‘No-one should impose their views on others’. Democratic? It’s popular to say that those who are pro-life oppose abortion because of religious belief, therefore they are wrong. History shows that pro-life legislation was initiated by the medical establishment in an attempt to protect the unborn. The Hippocratic Oath which dates back to 450 BC states in part “Will not assist in procuring an abortion..” (Religion did not discover when life begins – biologists did. Religion did not establish that at the moment of conception a unique and separate individual exists – geneticists did. Abortion is not a religious issue any more than drink-driving is a religious issue.)
We expect to live under a set of views imposed on us – and we expect that they will be just and fair. There must be a governing system capable of making rules to secure the protection and stability of society. We are not a bunch of free radicals floating around able to do what we want to do, whenever we want to do it, to whomever we want to do it. In Australia we expect and trust that those governing us will make rules that will safeguard our lives and lifestyles.
We rebel when those views don’t suit us. When we want to do something that’s not allowed under the constraints of stable society, that’s when we flex our muscles. In this instance, when we want to get rid of a coming child that will impact on our lifestyle, we shout that no-one else should tell us that it’s wrong. We shout that we should be allowed to do what we want to do, no matter if it hurts – in fact – kills someone else in the process. And we say that is OK, it is the people who say we don’t have that right who are the people in the wrong. (I don’t care, I want to do it anyway!)
‘Legal abortions are safe abortions’. Reassuring? The fact that a licensed physician performs the abortion does not guarantee safety to the woman. No legal abortion is without very real and serious short and long term risks to the physical and emotional health of the woman. Experience shows it is not just a simple 10 minute procedure with no subsequent psychological consequences.
‘A foetus is not a person’. Logical? Until you think about it. A person is, by definition, ‘a human being, whether a man, woman or child, a human being as distinguished from other animals.’ Since unborn children, while still in the womb, can now be viewed and monitored, receive blood transfusions, have surgery and be treated medically, it is illogical to believe that they are not part of the human family.