Well... where to start...
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Ah, but there is such a thing. It's called Abstinance. Many people practice it, but most don't. I think it would solve the entire issue.
At least you understand that this is a pretty idealistic viewpoint that's just not gonna happen on a large scale. But, let's put the Abstinance arguement into a slightly different light.
I'm married. I live comfortably with my wife in a not-small but not-large apartment. I work full-time, and we can live on that. My wife works part-time and it all goes to savings. We are not really needing anything; I have a vehicle that's mine, bought and paid for, we have computer, internet, TV, DVDs, PS2, ect. We have a set of pots and pans, a full set of dishes. You get the point.
I seriously doubt we'd be able to put anything into savings if we had a kid, my wife would HAVE to work (and she could only work when I'm home, so we would never get to see each other), and we would both have to do alot more around the apartment (I thought our cats crapped alot -- then I babysat a kid in diapers). We might even be forced to go on some sort of welfare (WIC, foodstamps, whatever) in order to properly feed the kid. We probably wouldn't be able to finish college on our own, we'd have to get even more student loans, if we had the time. We already have student loans, but we can afford those payments too.
So .... what you're saying is that I can't have sex, even protected sex, with my wife for the simple reason that we can't really afford to have a child, so if she gets pregnant, we're screwed and have to join the massess that are a drain on society (welfare)? Thank goodness we're pro-choice!
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And yes, there are cases of even having your tubes cut not fully stopping pregnancy.
I just have to mention that you could probably sue the doctor who performed the faulty operation for muchos buckos if you get pregnant after having your tubes tied. Then you don't have to work, and could take care of the kid easily (yay!). That is, if you wanted to. But that's another issue entirely.
Ah yes, another point, what if your kid finds out, say when he's 15 and full of angst, that you didn't want a child at all, but accidentally got knocked up, and couldn't abort for whatever reason. "Oh, by the way, I know you hate us anyway, but we didn't even want you! We have the doctor's note to prove it!"
I've heard pro-lifers saying something along the lines of "If you have sex, having a child is 'the consequences of your actions' or it's a 'punishment for having immoral sex'". Yay! You're child's name is Consie! I bet she's going to have a healthy childhood!
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The most common reason I have heard in favor of abortion is "It's my body, I'll do what I want." Well, the child may physically be in your body, but they are not you.
WooHoo! Yet another argument that makes no sense! To put your words into a slightly different light... "Well, the tapeworm may physically be in your body, but it is not you!" I understand a tapeworm is not human, but, a fetus is a parasite. A baby can live without the mother. A fetus cannot.
I just love the "a fetus has full human rights" argument. Since the fetus has full human rights, the mother, by definition, cannot. Yes! The double-handfull of cells multiplying inside your body has more rights than you do! Sure, the mother can (probably) drink or own a gun, has friends and family that love her, might have a job, but certainly can watch TV, but she can't get rid of the parasite growing within her because ... why? Because someone decided that she had to "live with the consequences" because she's a dirty slut who consumated her marriage when she knew full well that they couldn't afford a child!
When me and my wife were getting the marriage certificate, they asked us several questions. One of them was (essentially) can you afford to support each other. None of them, however, was 'can you afford to support a child'.
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Honestly, I think that before anyone should consider having Sex, they should be prepared for the possible outcomes.
I think I've covered this one already ... I don't want my child to know that they are "a possible outcome," yet I do want to have sex with my wife. Fancy that.
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The point has been raised that today marriages are more about tax issues and finances than love and committment. [snip] However, there is the financial cost to raising a child, and this is fairly indicative of the ability to support one.
I've already covered this one, too. Me and my wife married for Love and Commitment, but the financial issue is valid as well. Because we are married, I pay less in taxes, and my wife can get onto my medical insurance at work. Plus it makes us eligable for grants for school (rather than loans -- which we have $15k in). But we
cannot afford a child. Being married does not mean you can support a child.
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If people would wait until they are ready to support a child to have sex
Oops! Already covered it. Me and my
WIFE are not ready to support a child, but we comfortably can support ourselves. Guess we can't consummate our marriage! (arn't we selfish bastards? we'd rather live in comfort than have a child and live in crap! when we have kids, we want them to have a good life!)
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Idealistically, I would say that there shouldn't be a need for the laws, since people should be responsible for their own actions.
So your saying that people who get abortions are not being responsible for their actions? It's better than having a child that you loathe, beat the snot out of them every day for 20 years, until they flip out and murder their parents. Women who get abortions are being pro-active, they do
something early on, rather than ignoring the issue until it's to late. I know someone who hid the fact that she was pregnant until it was too late to get an abortion, probably because she didn't want to hear people talking about how she should probably get an abortion, and didn't want to deal with the fact that she was, indeed, pregnant. She didn't want everyone to know she was pregnant
while something could be done about it. At least, that's my theory. She had to have known she didn't have her period for
four and a half months. She should have noticed the
movement in her belly. Oh wait, she did.
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That brings me to another point I've been meaning to bring up...
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I see that the moment a person decides to engage in sexual activity, they are agreeing that they are able and willing to live with the results of that action. AIDS, syphyllis, pregnancy. All are possible consequences that by taking part in the act of Sex you agree to live with should they arise. Some can be treated. Others can't.
Yes, some of the consequences of sex can be treated. Like pregnancey. It's called abortion, or morning-after pills. Most STDs, can be treated with varying degrees of success. Few can be cured, however. I'm reminded of a great bumper-sticker quote: "Life is a Sexually Transmitted Disease."
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I have a whole lot of trouble buying any arguments that abortion is somehow more or less moral based on the progression of the fetus
So ... ovulation is immoral, because it has the potential to be human? As does sperm? So even if you're having sex to have a child, you're 'wasting' all that precious pre-human life, because only one spem makes it some of the time? So the only way to make sex moral is to remove it entirely, and only go with artifical insemination, because it wastes less sperm?
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In closing, I'd just like to say that I think pro-life vs pro-choice arguments are funny. They usually go like this:
Pro-Life: Abortion is wrong!
Pro-Choice: But what about this, and this, and this, and what alternative do you suggest, and why do you say it's wrong?
Pro-Life: It's wrong because it is!
Pro-Choice: But you didn't really answer my question... why is it wrong?
Pro-Life: It's
morally wrong!
Pro-Choice: But my morals are different...
Pro-Life: Then you are immoral!
I've noticed that pro-lifers don't really have an argument beyond "it's immoral" and "it's wrong" and "you have to deal with the 'consequences' of your actions!." Isn't having an abortion dealing with the issue? Isn't ignoring it until it's too late to do anything
not dealing with the consequences of your actions?