Abortion: A Necessary Evil in Society and Religion

Recently, much of the media and some political avenues have been buzzing over rumors that Stephen Harper is planning on reopening the abortion debate within Canada. Now, it is not certain as to why this debate might require...well more debate. An outsider of the political realm might look at this and assume that because Harper represents a party that leans to the right, ideology might be fueling this possible reprise. It is true that Stephen Harper and the Conservative's do seem to represent or at least try and govern in a similar style to Republicans, but I have a very strong feeling that any reopening of this debate is for sure not based on ideology. Realistically, of the main political parties, the Liberals and Conservatives contain a division of support over the subject, there are many Conservatives who are pro-choice, but overall more tend to be pro-life.

I seem very confident based on the experiences and observations I have made over the past few years that Stephen Harper will reopen this debate mainly because of money. The Canadian government currently subsidizes the termination of a pregnancy and spends roughly $80-100,000,000 a year. The actual amount is almost impossible to pinpoint because the government rarely releases information on this subject matter for the public. The only reports that come out will detail how many terminations occurred within our country per annul and with an average cost of $800.00/termination, one can simply speculate the overall cost as I have done here.

Where do I stand on Abortion? Where do you stand? Where does our Government stand?

I personally cannot say that I support either side of the argument. I understand that this may sound defeatist as it does not really contribute toward a solution, however I believe that given the emotions that this subject incur, we will never truly come to any hard conclusions other than the fact that we must look to choice as our savior.

The government and supreme court have also relied upon this solution as it represents a necessary evil within our society and inevitably provides the best support for the most amount of people, which should always be the objective to any decision made at this level. 

Why Choice?

Socially, abortion is often viewed as a morally wrong choice and depending on your background and political/religious beliefs, it is viewed with utmost disgust.  I understand and sympathize with those who believe this as even I cannot walk away from this subject without feeling that a life has been taken, or at the very least wonder the what ifs.
 
Currently, the supreme court only allows abortion to occur, but nowhere is it stated that the government must subsidize it. Whatever support one receives during this procedure is simply out of care on behalf of the government and rightly so. There isn't much choice if one cannot afford to consider this option.

More importantly, like many other activities that are currently legal and fall within a grey zone, if we ban abortion, we risk creating an underground for it to continue and this is where great danger to the individual woman and society as whole lies. If women are forced into backrooms and behind curtains to get an abortion, no regulation or safety is guaranteed, which puts many people at risk of infection and or death.

The Bible and Abortion

Nowhere in the Bible can it be found that a woman cannot have an Abortion. Given the time period that the Bible was written or estimated time period at that...there is not much in term of specific mention with regards to women. Lets face it, women were still not seen as fully being human and thus were used more like a tool.

Any religious argument today is based on the general rule that .:"You Shall Not Kill":. While this rule is important and finite, it does not cover the broad range of questions that are present in modern day society. Is the disallowing of life still really killing? Would allowing both mother and child to die due to complications really still be considered not killing? Or is allowing mother and child to die due to complications essentially killing if one stands by and does nothing?

It is important to understand that abortion is not simply required for those who wish to get off easy and live life without child, but also due to medical emergencies.

How Abortion is a Grey Area even for God

God gave us his only son Jesus to guide us and show us the light. He came down and he stirred some shit up and because of it we have the implementation of strong values that promote peace and virtue. Upon his sacrifice, we learn that Jesus died for our sins and allowed us to continue to live with choice. Yes, that is correct, God intended for us to live with choice.

Genesis 22:5 and 22:8: God commands Abraham to sacrifice a symbolic, which leads to Abraham almost killing his own son. If it weren't for the intervention of an angel, Abraham would have slain Isaac for his lord. The angel is not God, if anything the angel represents the bidding of God. Abraham could have said "screw you angel" and continued with the killing, but no...he had the freedom to choose and ultimately stop. Why would God allow such a thing to happen? Could it be that God promotes freedom and ultimately believes that one should choose?

In today's society a woman has the freedom to choose whether she wants to abort, keep or give up for adoption a child that she is not ready for. I find that all to much we see people simplify this debate and make it seem like the mother to be goes in and has the procedure and then walks out with smiles on her face, which is not the truth. I am fortunate that biologically I will never have to make this choice, but socially it still may occur. The procedure is often very dangerous and may leave a woman without the ability to procreate in the future, so I want you to imagine the psychological implications that might result from something like this let alone the physical.

I believe we should continue to promote freedom and more importantly educate ourselves further. Be the angel that stops Abraham rather than the devil that restricts his freedom. We live in an era of information and while one is allowed to voice their opinion, we must allow people to choose their paths. The pro-life and pro-choice groups can offer their own information about services and promote their own beliefs, but I do not believe it is right for them to judge, because even the almighty himself does not judge us and restrict our freedom, so we should not assume that responsibility either.

If anything, I believe Stephen Harper may offer to restrict how the service is covered and or provided by limiting the instances that one can receive it. For example, he may propose that the government only cover a portion of the procedure rather than the whole thing or that a woman must complete extra steps to ensure she has been given a reasonable understanding of her choices before continuing on.

In the end, we must choose to fight for freedom, it is our foundation and legitimacy, but realistically our freedom does not come free. As soldiers must ensure our national defense, abortion ensures a woman's right to choose. It may not seem nice and it isn't, but it is a necessary evil in our society that cannot be disputed by religion or politics.

Until next time.