To say Roe vs. Wade, aka legal abortion, is ‘just,’ is obvious. But it’s not simply ‘just,’ it is necessary.
There are few, I bet, who would say, “I like abortion.” Nobody likes abortion. I doubt that doctors perform abortions for any reason other than it is a paycheck. I doubt aborters have abortions for no other resort but the last. I doubt pro-choicers support abortions for any other reason than simply they see it as necessary.
Will criminalizing abortion eradicate abortion? No. And frankly there more pressing matters for our law enforcers to tend to than a twelve year old girl who made a mistake and got pregnant. Criminalizing abortion will take it to the black market. It’s a sad day in hell until I hear anybody, pro-life or pro-choice, find justice in the worst case scenarios for post-pubescent American girls.
The answer isn’t to make abortion against the law. The answer, unfortunately, is a little more difficult. It involves work. It involves paying attention. It involves involvement. If nobody likes abortion, than what can we possibly do to eradicate abortion without making it illegal?
We can educate. Parents can start talking to their children again. We can teach our children at the right age what sex is, what it means, and what happens if they are careless with their bodies. We can educate our children on the procedure. I can’t imagine how abortion would look anything other than painfully unappealing.
We can get the facts. Instead of lobbying to criminalize, lobby to make transparent statistics and trends so that we understand the fundamental issues that leave women in a position to abort. Studies and trend reports tell us how many abortions are done each year, where they are done, who they affect, and why. This lets us fundamentally eradicate the necessity of abortion. Regulation is a surface solution that would probably have little net affect on the number of abortions taking place. But if it makes you feel better to point an official finger, than you’re just part of a bigger problem anyway.
How do you really, really feel about abortion. Abortion is one of those divisive issues that “defines people. Where you stand has become a moral compass or an appeal to a certain voting group or a degree upon which to measure the progression of a movement. It’s everything that abortion is NOT that people fight about. in so doing, we collectively miss the point.
Nobody wants an abortion. Instead of butting heads, perhaps pros of life and of choice can put their heads together thoughtfully and come up with smart ways to reduce abortion which would probably benefit a few other divisive and unappealing realities.