Saturday, June 20, 2009

Abortion

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Earlier this morning, I watced a fascinating (edited) interview of Mike Huckabee on the Daily Show. The subject was abortion. Now, there are many things on the Daily Show that are hilarious, and often, they have disregard for actual news items and instead choose topics on top of which better jokes can be made. But, the two interviews I've seen with Mike Huckabee are possibly some of the best content on the current issues of abortion and gay marriage that I've ever seen of heard from anybody.

Mike and John are two very well read, intelligent people. They clearly define lines and put forth clear, logical arguments, and have incredible respect for each other. Best of all, they always directly answer questions made by the other, and often make concessions during the discussion, not just at the end right before commercial breaks so that they can sweep it under the rug. It was suggested (jokingly) that they should have their own show where they discuss issues "in which they are not the protaganist." I supremely enjoy Mike Huckabee's sound and thoughtful reasoning, but this post isn't about Mike Huckabee (the only political figure whose rallies I've attended, with Chuck Norris in attendance), it's about the subject matter on which they spoke last night.

I'm thankful for many things. A few of those things I'll list for you now:

  1. I'm thankful I'm not a politician. (At their best) They have to make decisions about the morality of certain activities in an era in which moral knowledge is quickly being disregarded as not knowledge.
  2. I'm thankful I've never been in a sexual relationship. Heck, I think I'm thankful I've never been in a serious relationship, mainly because of the temptation of crossing the fine line between the two.
  3. I'm thankful for children. Over the past few years, I've been allowed to watch the development of a very special child, Zechariah Hayes. I do recognize that he is probably very special to me because I got to hold him when he was smaller than my forearm, and simply, I've gotten to watch him grow. However, I still very much appreciate the exposure to his growth.

There's plenty of others, I assure you, but they'll have to wait for another blog post on another day. Anyway, I'm sure you can logically fit how these things I'm thankful for fit together as evidence in my mind. However, I always somehow missed a compelling discussion on the subject of abortion that would push me towards ruminating on abortion by myself. Thanks to Mike Huckabee, John Stewart, and a few hours of manual labor this morning, I was finally given the opportunity to finally let my mind and conscience weigh in on this subject.

Funnily enough, I seem to have come to the final conclusion that Mike Huckabee did at the end of the interview. If you saw the edited version on the show, I encourage you to go watch the unedited version on www.thedailyshow.com . It's definitely the best 15 minutes of video I've spent watching online within recent memory. Anyway, the conclusion I came to this morning follows.

Most of the debate around abortion on the pro choice side of the argument centers around concocting the cases that they consider (like the consonation, huh?) to be sufficient evidence to allow abortion. Rape, a mother's life in danger, developmental problems with the child, etc.

However, I am very much at a place very much out of line with the reality of abortion. Playing a small mindgame, I decided to try to play the part of a pro-choice, and concoct a situation in which I would be involved in the decision to abort a child. I would be married and fully aware that a very positive aspect of sex is the reproduction of new life. I would be at a position in life in which I would be comfortable at least my own wife comfortably (otherwise I would not be married). I would be at a point in the relationship with my wife that discussion would be at a very healthy and open point in which discussions of all sorts would be explored and sincerely, thoughtfully, and respectfully explored.

All of that being said, I ask you, the reader, to remember that pregnancy has never been a sure-fire thing. As the curse of woman, she was to endure pain during childbirth. Before modern healthcare, pregnancy was very much a risky business. Often, either the fetus or mother died in the process of childbirth. That has been a fact for thousands of years. People have been aware of this danger and have still gone forth with the process of reproduction (I hate to say that with such sterility). However, in our modern day, perhaps we have overestimated the abilities of modern medicine by living that sexual intercourse does no longer pose a threat to the woman's life.

Now, you may think me crazy when I say that, and that's perfectly fine. I do recognize that it feels a bit too much to the "scare 'em" tactics of the abstinence programs in our school districts, but I'd like to point out that it is a valid point. If we write off the validity of these claims, we are playing the part of the voluntarily blind, disregarding the views of our past.

Anyway, back to the mindgame, I can not foresee a situation that I would consider abortion an option. However, as you have seen, I can not foresee a situation in which I even get close to premarital sex. So, in my mind, the abortion of debate comes down to: do two wrongs make a right? No, they make a very wrong. I don't want to minimize those who are in sexual relationships that are outside of marriage, and I want to make something very clear to you: My viewpoint comes with years upon years of development that is much different than yours. My stance on premarital sex is a very real and achievable goal that comes only through significant support of my parents, my God, and myself. I'm constantly surprised and disappointed that those around me did not grow up with the same support. However, I'm not here to push in your face that I think I stand upon morally superior ground. I'm the chief of sinners, don't let me fool you to thinking otherwise. In other words, abstinence can and does work in our modern society. I do not avoid women, I interact with them on a constant basis. I have very frank, eye opening discussions with women that constantly challenge me and shape who I am becoming. I also talk with guys sometimes. As to whether or not this lifestyle is meant for me to keep for a lifetime, that is an ongoing discussion between me and my God.

Anyway, both Mike and I came to a similar conclusion: once you have engaged in sex, you (women) have made your decision about what to do with your reproductive organs. The functional purpose of the genitalia is reproduction. Another benefit, the pleasure, either expected from the partner or there in the moment, is the reason why most people do "it." That being said, on the other side of the bed, men have to recognize that their responsibility once they have engaged in sex is providing for the child and his wife. The Jewish law stated that once a man and a woman engaged in sex, they were legally married. Now, I'm not about to lobby for this to be put into American law, but I would like you to recognize that this was already a given when our laws were conceived in this country. Judeo-Christian laws are the basis on which most consistent moral codes, and therefore, sets of laws, are based. Basically, the process of being legally married has always been intended to occur before copulation.

This stance is definitely an ideal, and I recognize that, but I also see that within my experience, it is an achievable one.

postblog: I usually won't cover subjects this controversial, nor this mainstream. I've just been hankering to find a good subject to write about, and this kept on developing in my head. Hopefully, my next blog will be more curt.

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