Day 73
Yeah, I know. This isn't exactly a fun topic, and there's a good chance I could make you uncomfortable. That's why I promise you in advance I will consciously try not to. And as with all topics in this year-long journey o' mine, I hope you'll see these next two reflections as explorations into my mind as an almost 40-year-old. Perhaps with more perspective years from now, I'll feel differently.
My desire here is just to express my thoughts on the topic very briefly, and refrain from doing so with any shade of judgment or finger wagging.
People expect either one thing or another from me. They think my spiritual side will mean I'm pro-life/anti-abortion. Others don't see me this way. They see me as a liberal gay activist, someone who will champion a woman's right to free choice. The thing is, I'm both of these at the same time. I'm someone who will gladly fight for a woman's free choice over her own body, but I'm also someone who thinks abortion might be--I repeat, might be--immoral. I honestly have no idea, so I have trouble taking sides.
And at the end of the day, I kinda wish more people would join me in this middle ground. The truth is, no one's pro-abortion. No one with a sane mind is walking up to pregnant women and encouraging them to just end their pregnancy. When you believe in free choice, the right to choose, that doesn't mean you are anti-baby, or anti-fetus. The argument for free choice is only that: a philosophical belief in a woman's right to choose what does and does not happen to and inside her own body. Likewise, a belief in the right to life is only that: a belief in a right, a moral defense of a could-be child. There's a middle ground here I wish more people would consider discussing logically, and, if at all possible, calmly.
So that's what I think. I personally "believe" that a fetus, especially a later-term child in a womb, is already a life worth protecting. I believe there are lots of people willing to help babies find homes if their mothers are unwilling or unable to care for said child. But I also believe a woman has every right to make the decision herself, without outside influence or jurisdiction. Is there an absolute grey area? Yes. There's a matter of time. When is a baby a baby? But I'm not offering that discussion here and now.
I am a mix of beliefs, and I offer my ignorance with pride. "I don't know" are three very wise words, and I hope (and even pray) more people would adopt such an I-don't-know attitude. It's far superior, I believe, to an attitude that makes a person our enemy because of their strongly held opinion or moral belief.
No comments:
Post a Comment