Abortion Rights?

I believe in the rights of a woman to choose what is right for her own body and her life. I believe women have the inalienable right and intelligence to make the right decision for themselves and their families.  I also believe they have the depth of feeling to understand that having an abortion is a heavy decision. It is not easy; it is disquieting; it echoes what could have been.


On another plane, I believe a fetus is not a person until it can survive outside the womb. A life organism that can survive without the mother’s uterus, umbilical cord and all the rest. I’m not a neonatal doctor. I do not know what the viable term number of weeks are required for survivabiity of premature birth. Let the doctors and researches provide those details.


I do not sit in moral judgment of others' religious beliefs. I do sit in judgment of those persons who would push their morality onto me and others. If a person does not believe in abortion, then they should help the young mother through her crisis and arrange a healthy life for the baby. Either through nurture of the mother and child, or via adoption; the baby’s welfare must be cared for well into the future. It is not enough to fight for this baby to be born and then ignore the poverty, bad education, and poor living conditions it may be forced to survive.


I care that fetuses are given a chance to live a healthy life. I care that our society supports a healthy respect for women, motherhood and their quality of life. This is a complicated matter and deserves our total open support. That support does not extend to denying pregnant women their choice.


Another factor, gynecologic knowledge and expertise ought always to decide when an abortion is required for medical reasons – either for the health of the fetus or mother. I cannot judge how or why a doctor concludes an abortion is medically necessary. Nor would I presume my nonmedical elected representatives know this either. Get out of the doctors’ way and let them do their job.


Selecting abortion as a political issue to prove states’ rights or religious freedom is a mockery of our court system. Shame on Georgia, Alabama and any other state attempting to adopt this extreme right-wing view. The only thing that will stop abortions is creating unwanted fetuses.


Now, if Alabama has an idea about that, let them step forward with it.


May 17, 2019