lets hit the refresh button on Abortions

(as my blog form shapes I appreciate and enjoy constructive criticism, this week's goes out to my cousin Henry, a Graduate from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism); "the easiest way to lose a reader is by belaboring a point," so I am working on tightening my posts.

There's always going to be two sides to everything-- it's what makes America the land of the free. you have the right to peacefully protest, you have the right to voice your opinion, you will always have a choice whether it's a good or bad one.

But there comes a time when simple common sense and facts should trump all.

The Economist had a very interesting article on abortions in America. It did the standard comparison of birth control use compared to other countries, and discussed how pro-lifers are battling a 30+ year old debate, and how pro-choicers can benefit from that.

The facts are present and clear; in America teens are having sex at the same average age as Europe and other countries ( I blame the media, 'sexy' entertainment magazines, and uninvolved parents, but that's another blog day ) . Conservatives are not happy about it, and thus, lobby billions of campaign dollars in trying to curtail teens from having sex and using birth control to help prevent pregnancy. In a weird twist of irony though, conservatives don't approve of BC because premarital sex for the most part is frowned upon (thanks to deep rooted ties to religion and longstanding American culture). 

At the same time, "our abortion rate is  about three times as high as that of Germany or the Netherlands and about double that of France." So what does this say about us as a country?

Kids are having sex at younger ages, they're having abortions, and if they aren't they are raising their baby at a time in their life when they probably aren't financially stable or fully matured into an adult. The third alternative is obviously they put the baby up for adoption, or their baby boomer parents take on the task of raising another child...pretty much as their own.

So it's 2011 now, and the two sides are still arguing over pro-life or pro-choice. In all honesty, it's fucking over my head that the American government and American people can't look at the common sense solutions;

We face the issue of over population EVERYDAY in this country, so why is it not all right for a young teenage girl with her entire life ahead of her to make the decision to have the baby aborted? Having a kid shouldn't be the climax in your life that turns you into an adult, you should have a baby when you are an adult, in a committed relationship, fully aware of the responsibilities that lay ahead as a parent.

A conservative or activist will argue that the baby is a baby at what's that word? ; fertilization? thppt** No, sorry, that just doesn't make sense at this time in life. It might be the sperm and egg starting the process, heck it might even be a fetus in a couple of weeks--but that doesn't change the fact that having the child and giving up your youth shouldn't be the 'punishment' of having premarital sex. Condoms break! Young lovers forget protection when caught up in the moment! Accidents happen!

So maybe it wasn't responsible for X to have sex with Y , but it all begins about knowing your kids, understanding boundaries, and communicating the proper messages. Like The Economist article clearly states, the only way to fully avoid pregnancy is to just keep your pants zipped! Abstinence is key (but unlikely). However, kids aren't going to do that, sex is everywhere now (the media, the entertainment business, television, MTV's Teen Mom for example, etc) , it's just too hard to keep adolescents' minds innocent now a days [sadly].

It doesn't make sense for teenagers who are having sex and getting pregnant to undergo the 9month process of having a baby when they aren't fiscally responsible or grown up enough to raise that child.

Overpopulating the world in a time when our demand cannot match our supply just seems like another way for pro-lifers to prevaricate the situation.


***And don't forget the crucial factor that stem cells come from the aborted fetuses' umbilical chord, which has proven evidence to helping a plethora of other fatal diseases, (but we'll touch base on embryonic stem cells another week).

Watch out for my next blog on why Gay marriage still isn't legal, the benefits of adoptions versus foster care, and sterilization; should it be considered by the American government? My verdict is yes.

Love, Robert