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Abortion Links
Abortion:
Some Medical Facts
Abortion History Timeline
Partial-Birth Abortion:
Facts
Legislation
When Does Life Begin?
RU486
Abortion Alternatives
Pro-Life Response
to Abortionists' Arguments
Summaries
Argument 1: It's not a human being/person -- it's just a blob
of tissue
Argument 2: A woman has the right to control her body
Argument 3: "Every
child a wanted child," and other social arguments
Argument 4: Back-alley abortions
Argument 5: The hard cases
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"When They Say... You Say..."
Argument 3:
"Every child a wanted
child," and other social arguments.
By Olivia Gans and Mary Spaulding
Balch, J.D.
In the 1960s, we were told that there were too many
people, not enough resources, unwanted and abused children, abused women,
poverty, and a host of other social ills. When taken separately, these
issues all appear to be independent problems, but we were told that they all
had a common remedy.
Abortion was touted as the solution to all our social ills. In other
words, we were told then that these social problems were best resolved by
ending someone's life. Twenty-five years after the legalization of abortion
on demand - - and the deaths of over 36 million babies - - our opponents
still continue to argue that abortion is the solution.
Take the issue of poverty, for example. Our opponents argue that there are
so many poor people. How can we force a poor woman to carry her baby to
term? It is implied that encouraging poor women to abort their children will
somehow end poverty. Yet, the same woman who struggles with poverty today is
just as poor the day after her child's life is ended.
Another example is the case of spousal or family abuse where some would
believe abortion to be the only option to this horrible situation. What
about the woman who is being beaten by her husband?
When such a question is posed, it is vital to remind the questioner that the
same woman threatened with abuse the day before the abortion goes home to
the same abuse the day after it. Nothing has been done by the abortionist or
the abortion itself to help her establish a situation of greater safety.
Running through questions like these is a common thread: the misguided idea
that the baby the mother is carrying is the source of her problem. In
reality, for most women the presence of this new child has only brought into
sharp relief the issues and complexities of their lives which make being
pregnant seem difficult. When questions are put forward that focus on the
baby as the problem, the responses have to point out the larger picture. For
instance, we won't end poverty by killing poor children.
The "Wanted Child"
We have all heard the mantra, "every child a wanted child." The core
problem, of course, is the idea that we have value not because we simply are
but because we are "wanted."
Beyond this there is the assumption that the particular children themselves
were unwanted. That is not at all necessarily true.
Remember that the majority of women queried after abortion say that they had
their abortion because they felt they had no other option. Many women are
afraid that they can't handle the situation alone and abortion is a quick
way out. The same women are the ones to rejoice at the discovery of the over
3,000 mother-helping centers around the country (See
story, page 19).
As you counter this old but still (to many) persuasive argument, always
introduce information about the real solutions offered by mother-helping
centers. The answer -- our answer -- to so-called "unwantedness" is to
provide assistance that respects the dignity of both mother and child.
Questions about what will we do with all the "unwanted" children are also
great opportunities to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the pro-life
movement in responding to meet the real needs of women facing crisis
pregnancies. Included among those efforts are medical assistance,
educational opportunities, housing, and often job training - - all designed
to give the young mother a sense of hope for herself and her child. It never
hurts to break a few stereotypes about what pro-lifers are all about.
When responding to the issue of wantedness, ask, "wanted by whom?" The
National Council For Adoption (NCFA) states that there are "between one and
two million infertile and fertile couples and individuals who would like to
adopt children." Our opponents may then ask, "What about the kids with
disabilities?" According to the NCFA, "(b)abies, regardless of medical
problems, who are free for adoption" [that is, there are no legal
impediments in the way] generally do not wait long for families.
There are waiting lists of couples who would like to adopt infants with
Downs Syndrome or spina bifida. The National Down Syndrome Adoption Exchange
reports it has over 100 approved families waiting to adopt children with
Down Syndrome. There are also a large number of couples whose hearts are
ready to adopt terminally ill babies, including babies with AIDS.
Adoption is a thoroughly responsible, helpful-to-all alternative to abortion
that is, unfortunately, not well understood. When you are countering this
category of arguments for abortion, you'll find that it comes as a surprise
to many that so many couples wait for so long to find any child available
for adoption. All too often, there is far too little accurate information
made available to young women facing difficult pregnancies. As a result the
life-affirming option of adoption does not get a fair hearing in the debate.
Tragically, these social justifications for abortion also imply that we can
end child abuse by resorting to the ultimate abuse of children. Again,
always when answering any question about abortion, it is critical to return
the focus to the baby who will die at the same time we avow our eagerness to
help her mother.
It is frightening to contemplate how easily people can separate the violence
of abortion from the stories of family violence heard on the news. Perhaps
that is why it seems kinder to them to kill a voiceless, unseen baby in the
womb.
Here again the assumption is made that the babies/children who are abused
were "unwanted" children who should have been aborted. The numbers don't add
up, however. Over 1.4 million babies are aborted annually, yet child abuse
numbers are at an all-time high.
In fact, rather than decreasing child abuse, abortion has had just the
opposite effect. According to figures from the National Center of Child
Abuse and Neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), child
abuse has dramatically increased since abortion was legalized. In 1973, the
year the Supreme Court legalized abortion, the agency reported 167,000 cases
of child abuse. In 1983, it reported 929,000 cases. By 1991, the number of
cases had soared to 2.5 million cases -- with the numbers still going up
today. And, of course, such figures do not even include the 36 million
children killed by abortion - - the ultimate form of child abuse.
The only thing that abortion does is make it easier for some to disregard
the needs of others.
Finally, there is, in all of these questions, an attitude of weary, resigned
hopelessness. It is as if all the other answers have been tried and failed,
so we must content ourselves with abortion.
People actually say they don't like abortion, but what else can they do?
Tragically, the longer abortion is used as a method of "solving" social as
well as personal problems, the more often some people will begin to see it
as not only reasonable, but also morally responsible.
A formidable challenge for pro-lifers is to help society reject the notion
that the best response society has to its problems is the death of our
children. This is a challenge we eagerly embrace.
Pro-lifers are realists: we acknowledge that there is hard work involved in
really addressing problems that make abortion seem so useful. The answers to
all of these inquiries - - and often they are sincere questions - - demand
honesty. Where there is prejudice or fear based on poverty or misplaced
compassion, there must be clarity. Where there is hopelessness and
resignation, there must be demonstrated reasons for hope and faith in the
future.
In all these rationalizations for abortion, however, there is also an
invitation. What is called for from us is creativity. We are limited only by
the blinders we put on ourselves.
Each crisis pregnancy is an opportunity to reach beyond the immediate
circumstances and to build life-respecting responses, where each new life is
seen as an opportunity. It is up to us to show this in a loving and
supportive way both to women facing untimely pregnancies and those who see
the poverty, injustice, and brutality of abortion as a "cure" to poverty,
injustice, and brutality.
*Originally printed
in April 14, 1998 edition of NRL News |
