AboutDeborah Expertise I can answer almost any question regarding abortion, such as health aspects, emotional
aspects, and especially answering debate questions.
Experience I have written almost 10,000 posts over the last few years on this topic. I have a forum as well as a blog which also discuss abortion.
forum
http://alldrama.bigforumpro.com/index.htm
blog
http://wingnutwatch.typepad.com/wingnutwatch/
Publications futureshock3 over 6000 posts
http://www.prochoicetalk.com/message-board-forum/search.php?search_author=futureshock3
alldrama
http://alldrama.bigforumpro.com/index.htm
blog
http://wingnutwatch.typepad.com/wingnutwatch/
Education/Credentials I have a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Biology, and am halfway through a Master's Degree, also in Biology. I have access to and read many of the top medical journals, from which I also get the best, most thorough and accurate to answers to pressing medical and health related questions. This equips me with factual, biological information to dispel many myths related to abortion.
Past/Present Clients futureshock3 over 6000 posts
http://www.prochoicetalk.com/message-board-forum/search.php?search_author=futureshock3
Question Hi there. I recently got into a heated debate over abortion with a group of my colleagues, and afterwards I was just kicking myself for allowing myself to be intimidated, and not being able to sucessfully refute all of their arguments.
The main argument was that women who have abortions are "selfish sluts"(rolling my eyes) and that if they don't want a baby they shouldn't have had sex. I replied that abstinence is not always an option, especially for women who are in long term relationships or married. And that women are entitled to a satisfying sex life outside of procreation.
Then there was the "well, if she doesn't want a baby she can give it up for adoption. There are a lot of couples who want to adopt babies".
I replied that she would still have to go through with the pregnancy, and that pregnancy(particularly an unplanned one) can be risky to a woman's health, well-being and even her life. What really infuriated me was when I explained I was highly diabetic, and therefore at a much higher risk of complications, and they acted as if I had NO right at all to put my health and life first. They are all religious and believe in god, and said that if the woman died it was "gods will". How awful. Even a rape victim who had an abortion was being "selfish". After all, it isn't the "innocent unborn babys" fault she was brutally raped.
I just ended up get all flustered, and these women treated me like I was the worst person on the face of the planet. One even told me that I needed to learn to be more selfless, and that it wasn't "normal" for a woman not to desire children.
I myself had an abortion in my late teens, and never regretted it. I do not want children. I have a career that I love, and would never want to give it up. I have seen so many well-educated, talented, smart women give up their careers once their children were born, and I quite honestly find that sad. Although I realize it is a politically incorrect thing. TO be quite honest I don't like children all that much, and I don't think its fair that women are expected to sacrifice their own hopes and dreams(and even their lives) for a fetus! It's like women don't count for anything at all to these people.
It is so hard to stay calm and rational, and not get all emotional because it is an issue I feel so passionately about. How do you respond to the main argument that abortion is selfish, and that if a woman doesn't want a baby she could give it up for adoption? Thank you.
Maria
Answer Dear Maria,
I think you handled yourself extremely well, especially since the people who were opposing you sound like fanatics. It is very difficult to stay calm and rational because the people you were dealing with, and the many others like them, are trying to control your body and subsequently your life, against your will, as well as the bodies and lives of all women, against their wills.
As to the main argument, I think it is beyond selfish for people to force their harmful views onto other people, especially when those views are based on nothing but opinion. Ask them why they feel compelled to force other women to endure the hardship and health risks of pregnancy and the pain and agony of childbirth. Is it because abortion "bothers" or "upsets" them? Do they go through their entire lives in a state of despair because women are having abortions all around the world? What really bothers them is the thought of women having "consequence-free" sex.
There is nothing concrete about anti-abortion views. It is their opinion that the cells and tissue which comprise an embryo are more valuable than the life and health of a grown woman. And no, don't let them tell you that we are just cells and tissue, also, because it's not true. We are entire organisms. A fetus is not an entire organism until it is viable.
There is nothing more selfish than bringing an unwanted child into the world. It is cruel. The adoption question assumes there is already a child, which there is not, at the time abortion is being contemplated. Abortion is a pregnancy decision and adoption is a parenting decision.
