Let me start off by saying we can put this whole topic of abortion to rest if we can agree on two points. First, that the choice of abortion is a one sided decision that a woman makes on her own accord and secondly, that this one sided decision is to be seen as unfair/unequal/unjust and that's just too bad if you're a guy, suck it up. If we can agree on this, then I went through a whole lot of trouble writing what I believe to be fair and just in regards to abortion. If you're a woman, or man, who doesn't agree on the two points mentioned above, my efforts on writing this piece have not gone to waste and thank you for that!
Let's get some basics out of the way shall we. Our outlooks on abortion stem from personal beliefs or personal opinions. Therefore we should conclude that personal beliefs and personal opinions can not be used to determine what's just and fair for all individuals. Once upon a time personal beliefs and personal opinions were used to determine what was just and fair, but they had to separate church and state because killing or punishing people that didn't believe in what you believed, didn't seem just and fair after all. If you are going to argue that abortion isn't just or fair to the "baby", or that abortion is an act of taking a "life", you must realize, whether you, I, or anybody likes it or not, are beliefs and opinions based on personal beliefs and personal opinions. You see, we could go back and forth forever with opinions and beliefs, or opinions about beliefs, or beliefs about opinions, or a belief is a belief and not an opinion, or an opinion isn't a belief, or opinions aren't opinions but rather facts based on beliefs. I think you catch my drift!
Unfortunately, beliefs and opinions can't be proven, nor are beliefs and opinions end all be all's, for if they were, I wouldn't be writing this article, for everything would just be known. Personal opinions and personal beliefs therefore can't be used to blanket a woman's right to choose or not choose, but one's own personal opinion or personal belief of what is fair and just for the individual making the decision can be measured and applied to the individual who made the decision and that's essential what the Federal Supreme Court has approved. So that's what we go with as a people, because it's most just and most fair for all.
Beliefs and opinions, for better or worse are formed by our biases and through our biases comes our individual likes and dislikes, our individual or family traditions, our stance on political matters, our philosophy on life, our favorite color, our clothing style, our sense of self, everything! Beliefs and opinions come about not only through experiences of something we can relate to and agree with (inclusion bias), but through experiences of things we can't relate to and don't agree with (exclusion bias). In other words, if you are going to use opinions and beliefs as to why you should or shouldn't abort, you have to quantify them and since personal beliefs and personal opinions can't be quantified, because of a bias, we must then turn to what is fair and just when it comes to decisions that effect peoples freedom to choose, such as abortion.
I hope your asking yourself right now what could be determined just and fair if you have a bias that determines what is to be considered just and fair? The answer is: Something that doesn't have a bias! That something that doesn't have a bias is a RIGHT and that RIGHT is which allows Everybody to choose their choice!!! If your not getting to choose your choice as an individual, or collectively coming to an agreement where a situation effects another individual involved in the same situation (conception, it takes two), it is not just and fair and should be called such.
So regardless of what your beliefs are on abortion and regardless of what your opinions are on abortion, you can have one because the Federal Supreme Court of this land regards a woman's choice to choose as just, fair and/or equal to all woman alike, regardless of race, religion, creed, sex, beliefs and opinions. On a side note, if state representatives feel it's unconstitutional for the Federal Supreme Court to award the right of abortion, then it's also unconstitutional for citizens of a state to take that right away from other citizens. At least the Federal Supreme Court recognizes that it's an individuals choice, now the only thing is for citizens within a state and state representatives to recognize that it's an individuals choice as well. But that's not even a point I wish to address here. The point of this argument is about fairness and equality, which is what I hope the men and women of this country seek, regardless of race, color, creed and sex. This article isn't about whether a woman's choice to abort or not abort is wright or wrong, that's been established. This article is going to call into play if it's fair or just that a man doesn't have a say in the matter of abortion. If I didn't have your attention before, I think I have it now!
First off, I want to say if a
woman is tragically raped, molested or forced into having sex (not
consensual), it is fair and without a doubt a woman's choice and right
to abort an unborn without needing to justify her actions to anyone.
With that being said I've heard it all when it comes to a woman's right to an abortion, or at least I think I have. It's my body and therefore my choice! It's a woman's right! Men can't tell a woman what she can and can't do when it comes to her body and so on and so forth. But buckle your seat belt Dorthy because Kansas is going bye bye. A woman has 100% of the choice over whether she keeps an unborn or not and if you're a man or woman who agrees with this sentiment I'm going to prove that it's at least to be considered one of the following: reverse discrimination, unjust, unequal, or a double standard.
There's roughly three scenarios, and a vice-versa, when it comes to the decision of keeping an unborn or not. Again, excluding rape, molestation and non-consensual intercourse. If a woman wants to keep an unborn and the man doesn't, the baby is kept and the man theoretically has to pay child support. If a woman wants to abort an unborn and the man wants to keep the unborn, the unborn is aborted and the man is without the child he wanted. If a woman wants to keep the unborn and the man wants to keep the unborn, the baby is kept and only by default does the man get to keep the unborn. The reason why I say by "default" is because in every scenario the woman owns the decision ultimately, right! The woman decides 100% of the time, whereas by pure default the man appears to have a say, not a choice, but a say to confirm her choice. Even if a woman wants to abort and a man agrees, it's still just a say, or nod of approval and not his actual choice. I hope we can all be honest and agree on this, because if we can't, we have a more serious problem than first anticipated between the sexes in regards to abortion! Moving forward now for those who are still willing to follow the argument.
Before I move forward I wanted to bring a point to your attention. It's my personal belief or opinion, which I alone hold too, and that's individuals or institutions who aren't held to the same level of responsibility as I am, are not to be trusted. Throughout the history of this world people have come to power who've had 100% of the say and don't take your life into consideration. These individuals force their beliefs and opinions upon others and restrict your right to choose. Do you know what society has labeled individuals who force their will upon others, Dictators. A dictator dictates to you how it's going to be. In other words, someone with absolute power and unrestricted control can be considered a dictator. Now, I'm not saying woman are dictators, but I am saying when woman feel it's their right, belief or opinion and feel they shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, they are, for the moment acting as dictators in regards to abortion.
There's only a few ways to prevent pregnancy and only one way to get pregnant. These days woman can prevent against pregnancy through various forms of birth control and men with condoms. Abstinence is also an option to prevent pregnancy, but one that gets over looked for some strange reason and if practiced more, we wouldn't have the problem of abortion! So both men and woman can prevent pregnancy and we all know that it takes both a man and a woman to conceive. With that being said, the responsibility of birth control, or conception for that matter, weighs evenly on a man and a woman. In other words, it's a fifty fifty act and lets not pretend like one has more responsibility over the other to prevent a pregnancy, or to conceive. Let's also not debate which is more important, sperm or eggs!
I've heard the argument that it's a mans responsibility to wear a condom and prevent pregnancy, but sometimes condoms break. What then? I've also heard the argument don't have sex unless you want to have a baby, but again, nature has instilled in both man and in woman the impulse, urge, desire, curiosity and the like to pursue each other. Let's not forget that young people make mistakes by not thinking their actions through to the end, it's called life experiences. I've heard the argument that since a woman has the choice to take a "life", then they should be the one who assumes the responsible in preventing the "life". It can go on and on, but the argument I'm making is that a man should have a say in whether a woman should keep or abort an unborn, in one instance, since he contributes to 50% of the conception. If there are woman or men still reading this argument and holding steadfast to their belief and/or opinion that since it's a woman's body, it's a woman choice, agree with me on something (it's what I started this article off with). Agree that your belief and/or opinion is unjust and unfair. Agree that you believe a man's 50% contribution towards conception is less than a woman's, yes, less than a woman's. Agree that there's no equality between a man and woman when it comes to deciding to abort or not abort an unborn. Just a slight node of agreement, that's all. If your not going to agree, then the least you could do is support you viewpoint and prove that it is just, fair, equal, and non-sexist. I'm not going to say that that would be impossible to prove, but I will say I'd love to read the argument if anyone is willing to present one.
Yes, it's the woman's body that bares the unborn, but does that mean we dismiss the man's 50% contribution that allows the woman's body to bare the child in the first place? I know some woman will hold to the belief or opinion that since it's her body she gets to choose. This may seem like a water tight argument, but I'll give you one example of why this is at least a double standard and a double standard that plays out in society everyday. Let's say you work in a physically demanding work environment. The company you work for is an equal opportunity employer. It is a fact that an average man has a lot more upper body strength than an average woman. This is natures design. Why can't I use the "It's my body" argument if I'm working harder, by natures design, than my female counterpart? Meaning, a man is going to be working at a different level not only of himself, but to help compensate for the level she is working at, which will lead to more wear and tare on a man's body. Could you imagine a man saying," Hey, we're going to have to let go of the woman worker based upon the "It's my Body" argument. Hey, it's my body so I get the last say and she has to go, sorry"!
Again, you can have all your beliefs and opinions on this argument, but you can never refute the 50% contribution man makes because it's a fact. So I ask, is this fair or demonstrating equality amongst the sexes? It's a 50/50 act and it should be a 50/50 decision, depending on the scenarios I've created below. Remember, it's the RIGHT for everybody to choose their choice that makes things fair and just, how you feel about the outcome of the choices is your beliefs and opinions. So if theirs two consenting adults, each barring 50% responsibility in conceiving an unborn then they both have to choose their choices. The only question now is, what's just and fair to both a man and a woman? When you set beliefs and opinions aside and focus only on what's right, responsibility is the only factor to be considered. The scenarios of responsibility spell themselves out and justice and fairness are merely responsibilities byproducts.
I've created the list below based on responsible actions taken by individuals in regards to protecting themselves or lack there of, when it comes to sexual intercourse. The actions taken by the individual before intercourse correspond directly to the measured outcome of what's just and fair for that individual if conception occurs. Again, what's determined to be fair and just is based upon responsible actions taken by EACH individual. So without any further adieu:
A.) If both the woman and man use their individual forms of birth control, no decision should have to be made in regards to abortion. Their should be a zero to nil chance of conception. If by chance conception occurs, the woman will have the say whether an abortion will, or will not occur. Although, the man will have his choice to choose whether he wants to pay child support or not, since he was taking responsible action to prevent the pregnancy.
B.) A woman must be proactive and inform her sexual partner that she is on birth control. If a man chooses not to where a condom (if a man chooses to wear a condom scenario A. will be applied) and the woman agrees to this, the man is held responsible for the outcome of his actions. In other words, the woman gets to choose whether to abort or not abort and the man will accept the decision and be held responsible to pay child support.
C.) A man must be proactive and inform his sexual partner that he will be wearing a condom. If the woman isn't on birth control she must inform the man before intercourse. If the woman chooses to proceed with intercourse she is relinquishing her say on the matter of abortion. This is the ONLY scenario where a woman's actions don't warrant an acting part in the decision making process because she's acting irresponsible and taking no action to prevent the pregnancy and still wants to participate. In other words, it will be the man's choice whether a woman aborts or not, if conception occurs. Although, the woman will get to choose if she wishes to pay child support or not, since she informed the man she wasn't on birth control.
D.) A woman must be proactive and inform her sexual partner if she is not on birth control. If a man takes preventive action and chooses to wear a condom and the woman agrees to this action and she conceives, the woman may choose to abort or not. If the woman wishes to birth the unborn the man has the right to relinquish any financial responsibility for the child. If a man takes no preventative action he is to be held financially accountable.
Now, if you're going to riddle me back, Please be sure not to use your personal opinions and personal beliefs as a defense. Remember, I'm only interested in what's fair and just, so if you have a defense for why it's a woman's right only, you have to explain how your right is just and fair and why a man's rights aren't are not to be considered. For example, you could say a woman makes the baby and defend your explanation. But, Please don't use this as a defense because woman don't make babies, babies essential make themselves. Yes, you "feed" them, but indirectly through Your food consumption. Again, this is an opinion or belief and not a reason to give you 100% of the decision based off a 50/50 conception. We are concerned only with what's fair and just. Thank you for your time and consideration on this topic. I'm not here to ruffle feathers, I'm here to find out if we can find equal ground between the sexes, true equality, in regards to abortion.
I know it's a woman's body and at the same time, it's a man's life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz5bzhv25iw
