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July 13, 2004 I have avoided this issue solely because I believe it is one with no answer. There is no way to ever come to a consensus. A quick-minded person my age would place blame on the Church – any denomination would do – for trying to take away a woman’s right to choose. Not me. I have been looking for answers for a year now, and I can say I do not fully back either side of the argument. It is a very interesting subject, one I believe could grow some well-thought debates, but the ideologues from both sides often appear and ruin our chances of such a peaceful hashing out of opinions and ideas. My personal belief is that the procedure is an awful, horrible thing to have to go through, and to have to put a family through. In a perfect society I would hope to see no need for such a gruesome thing. However, I would also rather it be safe and done rarely than illegal, a risk to the health of the woman involved. I could go on at length about Roe v. Wade or Stenberg v. Carhart, or how the Supreme Court defines a fetus as a “potential life,” but this has all been said before, and it has made little impact. To the devout, terminating a fetus is a murder. I do not question their purity of heart in saying this. Those who truly believe this are not wishing to oppress women or deny women’s rights – in their collective mind, this is the right path to take. I do not question their faith in that. I do not believe a woman raped, or forced into incest, or somehow drugged and manipulated into intercourse should have to keep the fetus and carry it to term. That is a psychological burden I could not imagine. When delivery may kill or seriously harm the mother, I do not agree that she must carry to term. I also do not believe someone who has suddenly decided she does not want a family should be able to terminate the fetus. This is the kind of rampant “simply because” situation that frightens many people. If this procedure is to exist, let it be rare, and for those who truly require it, those who have been violated and robbed of their dignity. Let it be safe, and let it be early. Let there be counseling before and after, and help there if the woman requires it. Allow her Church to speak to her, and counsel her. Deciding against a birth while on the delivery table is not an option; it should never have been. Let it be done decisively and early on to minimize all suffering. This debate has no conclusion; it may never have a conclusion. Both sides raise valid points for and against. But if it is to be legal, as it is now, let it be safe and private and rare. Those who condone the bombings of clinics are not helping the problem. Let it be monitored to ensure safety and decency of practice. And let them all know that the rape, the incest they are there to remove, should not shame them, and that the people who rally and chant outside do not realize that they only compound the shame and disgust and disgrace the woman feels. And then let them have peace. ------------ About the author: Max Burns lives in Indianapolis and interns with the Indiana Democratic Party. Visit The Rabid Demoncrat or read the fantasy-fiction novel "Alcardia". He is currently a senior at Lawrence North High School and is active in political clubs and associations. Max thinks it's time to hatch a real environmental policy and plant George W. Bush back in Crawford. Email: MBurns_NS@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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