COLUMN | The Right Mind: Abortion Part 1

Disclaimer: This is an opinion column about my own personal views on things. I am not trying to push my opinions or views on anyone, rather I just want to be able to express my First Amendment right and freely voice my thoughts so that everyone can understand why I think the way I do. I respect your views, so all I ask is that you respect mine instead of hating me. We’re all different and we must be able to have meaningful, civilized conversations without making assumptions and being close-minded. Also, I am in no way speaking for all conservatives. This column is just about what I believe, knowing that not everyone feels the same way.

My mom wasn’t even in her second trimester of pregnancy when the doctors told her to abort my twin sister and me. She was experiencing very severe back pain that the doctors couldn’t fix. One suggested that she get an MRI, but my mom refused because her OB-GYN warned her of the potential harm it could have on my sister and me. Another doctor proposed that she have surgery. Again, my mother refused because surgery would have killed my sister and me.

At that point, with apparently no other options left, another doctor recommended that my mom abort my sister and me. He gave the option to my mom like it was nothing, like it didn’t matter if she just gave up and decided to end my sister’s and my life. Thank God she didn’t, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here right now to write this column.

Abortion is a touchy topic, and I understand that there are many different views that many people have. So, first I’m going to relate my views on abortion to religion and then I’m going to share my thoughts on different scenarios that can come up with abortion.

Abortion and Catholicism

For those of you who don’t know, I am a practicing Roman Catholic, and one of the things we stand for is Pro-Life, which means we do not support abortion because that is directly killing God’s Creation. The second the sperm and egg cells come together and become a single-celled organism (or zygote) you create a human. As Catholics, we are supposed to preserve life and protect God’s Creation in any way possible, and that means not aborting any child, no matter how small they are.

Catholics also follow a foundational set of 10 rules, or commandments, created by God. The sixth commandment states that “you shall not kill.” That includes unborn children. By killing children, we become killers. We become murderers.

What difference does it make if you kill a child in the womb or if you let it be born and then kill it in person? Nothing. Either way, you are taking away that person’s life, no matter what stage of it they’re in at the time of death. You shall not kill.

God decides when people enter this life, and God decides when people leave it. We do not have a say in when other people’s lives end. All we can do is save the lives that God puts on this Earth. “It is I who bring both death and life,” (Deuteronomy 32:39). No one shall play the role of God but God Himself.

Abortion as a form of birth control

Abortion should not be used as a form of birth control. People should not be having sex without the use of contraceptives if they aren’t prepared to deal with the consequences of conception. People can have just as much sex and just as much fun while having sex by using a condom, the pill or other contraceptives.

If a child is conceived, then killing it because of an irresponsible decision is not right. That child did nothing wrong, so why should it not get the chance to live life the way we have?

What if your parents had sex at an early age and got pregnant with you? You wouldn’t have wanted them to abort you just because they didn’t use protection, would you? No. You wouldn’t. Amazing people can live amazing lives and do amazing things, but not if their parents had aborted them.

There are several famous people whose moms were teen moms. For example, former President Barack Obama was born to a teen mom of 18 years old. Eminem’s mom was only 17 years old when she gave birth to him. And even younger, Selena Gomez’s mom was only 16 years old when she was pregnant. If their mom’s chose abortion, they wouldn’t have been able to live the successful lives that they have.

Even if they didn’t want the child, they could’ve put it up for adoption. If I had a teenage daughter who got pregnant, I would not want her to abort the child. I would want her to have it so that we can either raise it or give it up for adoption if that’s what we decided to do.

Now obviously I am not in this situation so I can’t say for certain what I would do, but as of right now I would like to think that I would give an unborn child the chance to live an amazing life. Also, and this doesn’t just go for teenagers but anyone really, if people are ready to have sex, then they are ready to be parents and take responsibility for their actions.

Abortion to save the life of the mother

This is a tricky one, but I’m still going to argue it. Relating this back to religion, people should not kill no matter what the situation is, especially unborn children who are the future of our world. And when it comes to the life of the mother, I believe the mother should choose her baby’s life over her own because that is what God expects of us.

We must do everything we can to save the child’s life, even if it means losing the mother. I can only hope that if I was in this situation that my wife would love our child more than herself and would die for it. Now obviously I am not in this situation so I can’t say for certain how I would react to it. I’m sure it would very difficult, but I would want my child to live over my wife.

Anyone can have complications during pregnancy. Everyone needs to understand the possible risks of pregnancy before conceiving a child, even if the mother is perfectly healthy. By conceiving a child, you are telling God that you are ready to accept new life into this world by His will and that no matter what happens, the new life will enter this world, even if it means dying for it to happen.

Now, I can’t make anyone do anything they don’t want to do. In the end, whether or not a mother actually does abort her child is up to her. I personally don’t think abortion is ever an option, but if other people do, then that’s their decision, not mine.

However, I don’t think that tax dollar should pay for free abortions. If I do not support abortion, then I will not pay for people to receive free abortions. That’s not how this works. If I need a kidney transplant to save my life, then I have to pay for that myself, not taxpayers. If women want abortions to save themselves, then they can pay for it.

Check back in two weeks for Part 2.