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Mark Whyte
Mark's an adjunct Professor at 3 colleges, teaching in Sociology, Theology and Public Relations online, and is an avid internet entrepreneur.
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Its not uncommon for one or more of my students to write me with questions. The following is my response (no names here) to one student on the touch issue of abortion. Some of you will hate it, oh well. You don't need to tell me about it - just get your own forum and then you can spread your own views - The abortion issue tends to hit a nerve...I'm not especially surprised. But in the end, as a teacher, I prefer to challenge people's thinking rather than just let things go. Dialogue can be a very powerful thing.
Where the abortion issue goes astray is that it’s not really just a women thing that men just don’t get. I understand that the woman carries the baby, and suffers changes and inconvenience, and I agree that it is a hard role to be in and that great pain is involved, but that is a particular role the woman has been given. Men have their roles, women have various roles, some of them overlap – this is one that does not. In reality, pregnancy is a human thing that we all have a significant interest in and one for which we are all responsible for. You are right, 6 week old babies cannot survive outside of the womb, but most babies aborted in late term abortions can, and that does not seem to faze abortion proponents. Abortion has come down to an issue of convenience rather than taking responsibility for life (see comments below). Granting that no single analogy is perfect, consider it this way: If we plant tomatoes, should we pull them from the ground and kill them because they are 6 weeks old and have not produced fruit yet? Of course not, that’s absurd. We recognize that plants start small and mature over time, but that does not make them any less alive simply because they are small and not producing fruit yet. Also, a tomato plant when it is only 6 weeks old does not make that tomato plant an onion, or a green bean. It is a tomato plant whether it is 6 minutes, 6 days or 6 weeks old – it is simply immature and still developing. And if we choose to plant tomatoes we should choose to be responsible for their nurture and development – even if it takes time to water, feed and protect the plants till they mature. Can we really treat babies in the womb with less care and respect? You might think, “Aha! I choose to plant tomatoes, but what if the women did not CHOOSE to be pregnant?” Well, the moment she engaged in sexual activity, she took a risk that she MIGHT get pregnant. Accidents do happen (see below), but once they do and she gets pregnant, the human thing to do is take responsibility, whether or not it is convenient or whether pain is involved.
Accidents also happen like condoms breaking etc. And the minute that we choose to indulge, we are taking a small risk that an accident may occur and consequences will follow. Sometimes kids throw baseballs and break a window –an accident, but they still must own up to their responsibility for that accident because even accidents have consequences. Bottom line is that when we choose to play baseball or live life, and “accidents” occur, we must live up to them. Pregnancy from rape is highly emotional and also a pretty rare occurrence – it’s a horrible and evil thing that has happened and I can not imagine raising that baby. BUT, to be logically consistent, its still innocent life and adoption is the answer. Is it fair that the woman has to carry that child and be reminded, for 9 months? Probably not. But as you know, life is not always fair, bad things happen to good people and we must still do the right thing, the best thing and the responsible thing when we face those unfair situations. That is the human thing to do, the responsible and logical thing and the right thing -- Be it man or woman who faces the unfairness.
Abortion is a convenient way out – most women would not be so crass as to say its convenient, but if it’s not a matter of convenience (other than rape) then what is it? Consider the normal reasons for abortion: The timing isn’t good. I can’t afford a baby. I’m in high school or college. I don’t want kids. I’m not ready to settle down…and so many more. Do we really want to excuse responsibility in any area of life (let alone this one) mainly because it’s not convenient? Honestly, when is life ever convenient? Is it really convenient to go to work? Go to school? Care for a sick spouse in the middle of the night? Study for a test? Put gas in the car? Go grocery shopping? And so many more! Other than extreme situations, abortion is all about convenience and not taking responsibility. Just because it falls on the woman’s lap to handle the pregnancy does not add justification for abortion – again, life can be unfair, but responsibility to do the right thing is necessary.
I hope that you realize that I do care about your growth as a student and as a person. Yes, these issues are emotional ones, and all the more reason that we must all think very logically. The beauty of logic is that it works in EVERY area of life – whether the issue is an emotional one or a math problem. Emotional, situations are not exempt from our abilities to apply logic and that is good news.
Due to the emotionally charged issues in this letter, I hope that you’ll take the time to read this a couple times. The issue as a whole is about thinking critically rather than emotionally. I’m not talking about being robotic without feeling, I believe strongly that we should have passion about our beliefs, but let’s be sure that our beliefs are based FIRST on solid facts and logic. Doing that affords us the ability to live with clarity and to make a difference with the kids we raise -- resulting in a better community.
Best to you,
Prof Mark
Mark's an adjunct professor and web entrepreneur. You can see one of his sites by going here.
Published by Mark Whyte on May 10, 2006 12:44 PM
