Is Pro-Choice Ever Pro-Death?

I’m about to get serious. I’m not sure if you’re pro-choice or pro-life, but what I do know is that bringing it up makes some people angry instantly. Some recent statistics came out that SHOULD SHOCK you no matter what your position is.

This issue is always a conflict to me. Certainly I don’t want to tell people how to live their lives. Then again, there is a certain ‘social contract’ that we develop as a society in order to maintain a civilized and orderly culture–so everything doesn’t become relative and we no longer value important virtues necessary to sustain a society.

I must admit that I have a high value on life. And although abortion is often defended in the context of reducing poverty, reducing unwanted pregnancies (and abuse by default), protecting the health of the mother, protecting the rights of society in general by ensuring the rights of the individual, not objectifying women but, instead, liberating them, the truth is, over the last 30 years, none of these ‘selling’ points have proven to be true. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

A few weeks ago a tragic statistic came out. It revealed that 41% of all pregnancies in New York City end in abortion (here is the Department of Health Report). Did you hear that? Let me repeat it:

41% of all pregnancies in New York City end in abortion!

You don’t have to be religious or pro-life to understand that statistic is horrifying, disgusting, and even foreboding. And when this breaks down by ethnic group it gets even worse. It doesn’t count abortion with all the other death-rate statistics. That’s because it would affect the overall death-rates to such a degree that people might really start paying attention and wondering about the practice. That would bring attention to the issue that would demand some changes. At least that’s how I see it.

This all begs some thought provoking questions:

Is this what it means to be a civilized society? And is this really liberating to women?  How can we as a society say we value rights and ‘the law’ when we don’t value life?

I just don’t think that works in the long run. It breaks everything down because it’s as if every value starts and builds from there. It’s kind of an unwritten mantra that is playing out in our society.

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we certainly won’t value life in the end stages.

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we won’t value it when it comes to considering going to war.

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we won’t value making relationships work.

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we won’t value making marriages work.

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we won’t value honoring the relationships built in business on contracts and ethics (which are built on values).

If we don’t value life in the beginning stages…we don’t really value life.

We aren’t really all that civilized, are we? We aren’t really so enlightened as a society after all. It’s sad. Bummer.

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