Choice

I should preface this post by saying: I don't ever want to have an abortion.

(And now you're confused and wondering what I mean. A hook!)

I don't think I could ever bring myself to do it. Maybe in an extreme case like if I was raped. But I understand that there is a severe emotional and physical burden on a woman when she has one. There is a reason that there are counselors to deal with women in this situation. It is not an easy choice to make by any stretch of the imagination and I hope I never, ever have to be in that position.

But I believe that any woman should have the right to have an abortion.

Women who consider abortions are ones who feel that they cannot, for whatever reason, give birth to a child and raise it. It's not a form of birth control for these women, it's a last step that needs to be taken. Women are raped, condoms are broken, pills are forgotten. Women don't say "Oh, I don't like it when he wears condoms; we'll just get an abortion if anything happens." And any that do are in the absolute minority.

I'm not a strong person in any sense of the word and I already have some psychological issues with which I have to deal. To get pregnant before I'm ready is absolutely unfathomable to me. When I have sex, condoms and birth control pills are abundant. I'd use hazmat suits if they weren't so inconvenient. I have this (slightly irrational) fear of herpes already and the idea of getting pregnant is even worse to me. That said, I completely understand that things happen and if any of those things failed me I would feel safer knowing that I still had options open to me.

I was running errands on foot one day a few weeks ago when I met up with a large group of Pro-Lifers. I tried to ignore them as I went about my business but I did notice that a majority of them were either: a) male, or b) elderly. There was a particular elderly woman holding a placard (which said 'Morgantaler's Legacy,' with a picture of a mangled baby corpse by the way) while wearing a sweatshirt that bore the likeness of the Virgin Mary and had the caption 'PRAY PRAY PRAY' that irked me. But as I said, I tried to ignore them.

On my way back, I spotted a man in his mid-twenties engaged in an argument with a group of 3 of the Pro-Lifer men. He was yelling at them, absolutely livid. I said nothing; while I agreed with him, I couldn't deny their right to protest. I crossed the street, right towards a middle-aged woman who was telling a group of young, teenage males that "We need you to spread the word." One shouted back "I will!" as he biked towards me. Any boy who's stupid enough to bike on the sidewalk isn't one you want on your side, but I digress.

I didn't want to engage the woman in conversation, but I was curious. She was backed up right against the 'Walk' button I needed to push, so I had to get close to her to push it. The following is a paraphrasing of our conversation.

Myself: Just out of curiosity, is this a church group?
Woman: No, we're just a group of people who are protesting for what's right.

I took a few steps away, waiting for my light. The woman lifted her placard - it depicted a full-sized baby (clearly it couldn't have been a child that was aborted, as it was too big and fully-formed and third-trimester abortions aren't provided here) that was torn apart and mutilated.

Woman: So what are your thoughts on it?
Myself: I'm very, very pro-choice.

She lifted the placard again and made a sad face. It was like she was actually doing :( in real life.

Woman: Even seeing this?
Myself: Well, I know that that's not really what happens.
Woman: But it is! You have to face reality!

I turned away to wait for the light to change so that I could cross the street. I didn't want to get into an argument because it would only be a waste of (my) time. She continued to yell for me to 'face reality' as I crossed the street. I had many things I wanted to say to her, that I could have said to her. They wouldn't have made a lick of difference to her, nor would they have even given her pause, so I didn't bother.

When I went home, I did a quick Google image search. And I found the exact picture she had shown me - hosted on both rotten.com and a religious website. Amused, I felt better about myself and figured I'd leave her to her delusions.

I've been pro-choice for a long time and I can't remember not being pro-choice. I can think of several reasons for it, and I keep getting more as I age. But I think my favorite right now is the one from a biological perspective.

Biologically, we're meant to grow and survive and reproduce and die. This applies to everything, not just humans. Reproduction doesn't mean as much to some organisms; plants can give off seeds, which spread and germinate. That's easy. It requires relatively little energy, so they can have a lot of seeds at once and expect at least a few to take root. But mammals use lots of energy. We have live-bearing young, which require nutrients both inside and outside of the womb. So we need to be picky.

If you've ever taken a class on animal behaviour, you know this. We pick our mates to have the best genes. This means that our offspring will have a good chance to survive and reproduce so that the line can continue. All sexual species do this. Males are good for the provision of sperm and resources and not much else. Once they've provided the female with sperm, their job is to feed her and keep her safe until the offspring is born. More resources are needed for growth and development. A male mate with poor genes won't gather resources as well as one with good genes so there's no point in bothering with him unless you have to.

It's energetically expensive on a female to bear live young. The fewer you have, the more energy you put into each of them. A cat gestates for a few months before bearing a litter and she feeds them for awhile before she's good to go again. A human female holds one (or more) fetus for nine months. And that's a long bloody time. She takes time off of work before and after to raise the child, resulting in a lack of money which is a necessary resource for us humans.

This is where I'm going to hear complaints: biologically, an imperfect child is useless and a waste of energy/resources. The child may not or will not provide children to your line. Any species but the human species would have these offspring killed as soon as they were born. I'm not advocating the removal of those with disabilities from the world, only stating that in the animal kingdom they would not be allowed to exist. Biologically speaking, an abortion would remove them from the gene pool with a limited amount of energy wasted so that the woman could put her energy into another fetus. I am NOT advocating eugenics, nor am I saying that I myself would love a disabled child any less than another. Only that biologically, it makes sense to not have these children.

Women who aren't ready for having a baby are at a real disadvantage. They may not have the resources (or the ability to get the resources) necessary to raise a child and give it the chance to survive. A 16-year-old pregnant teenager isn't going to be able to provide the same life that a 32-year-old professional woman can. If she does it's likely because she has her parents/guardians helping out and she's draining *their* energy and resources.

Which will lead to the question: Why not put it up for adoption?

Adoption rates aren't 100%. Foster homes are brimming with unwanted children, and those taken from their willing parents. Giving up a child doesn't mean you're giving it to a better life, only that you're giving it to a life in which you're not involved. This happens in the animal kingdom too, but in species that produce many offspring at once and move on to create more. The idea is that only a few will survive anyway. Adoption is a great idea, one that I definitely want to look into when I'm able to have children. But while my heart may be large enough that I want to adopt every single abandoned child I know that it's just not feasible. Money isn't being put into these children and they're falling through the cracks.

I'm worried that I'm starting to ramble incoherently so it's best that I summarize now. Reproduction is energetically expensive and if a female isn't ready for it, she's wasting a lot of time and energy and resources that she can't afford. Waiting until she is ready is smarter both for herself and for her future offspring. There are circumstances where males with poor genes will slip in (ie: rape) and those should be removed from the gene pool if the female doesn't want to bother. There are also circumstances where offspring that won't survive will be born and the woman should gauge whether she's able to produce and raise the child, knowing the heartbreak and pain that it will cost her.

I want to make it clear that while humans are subject to the same principles as other animals in the kingdom, I know that we're not the same. But if we want to grow and develop as a species, to set ourselves apart from the other species, we need to continue to expand our ideas and ideals and recognize that we're all human beings. We all have different situations and we cannot force our beliefs on others. What I've outlined above will suit some people and it won't suit others. I understand that. But please, don't take a person's choice away from them.