Now use those same examples. Except, instead of having them be about an abortion, have them be about deliberately killing the kid who lives next door.
That would be closer to the way folks (like me) who honestly believe that life begins at conception, and that abortion is the ending of a real human being, feel about it.
But you are right, all three could be 'for the sake of convenience...' and frankly, if getting pregnant is as bad an idea as it would seem in examples two and three, then the people involved should think REALLY hard about doing that which makes babies. #2 should not have been depending solely on the condom. #3 should use multiple forms of birth control, as well.
Please note that even though *I* personally would recommend abstinence to woman #2, I didn't include that in the options.
One makes a choice when one enters into consensual sex, I honestly believe; and that choice is...if all the birth control methods fail, and I end up pregnant, then...this is a human being and I invited him/her into existence.
BTW...your claim about who gets abortions is incorrect. While most surveys don't even look at married status, the National Abortion Federation does, and it seems that 83% of women seeking abortions are unmarried. Most abortions are sought by older teens and women in their twenties. Oh....and the NAF is NOT a 'pro-life/anti-abortion group.'
You can get the pdf of their findings here.
Fair enough. And thanks for the call on “married”. I was editing too fast. Corrected it to “stable relationship couple with children”.
Your reference has slightly different numbers than other reliable sources I’ve seen, but that’s fine.
While I understand the viewpoint about human life and considering abortion the equivalent of murder (which is not supported by biblical text); as the US is not an orthodox Christian theocracy, the laws should reflect the views of everyone, not just one of the many philosophies within our diverse nation.
Since the majority of the population thinks the pregnant woman should decide, and an even larger percentage believe that government shouldn’t be able to force citizens to undergo grueling and taxing medical procedures against their will......
Please do understand that I and every “Pro-Choice” advocate would like there to be no more abortions, ever. We are NOT “Pro-Abortion”, but we feel that the final decision should be up to the mother. A well-informed mother, not weighted down with myths, lies, and propaganda. If she has your philosophy/religion, then she can go ahead and bear the child to full-term and delivery. Best of luck to her. I’m even happy to pitch in my tax dollars toward improving her child-care and prenatal education & nutrition programs. Not that Mr Robertson would.
Taking religion out of the issue, then your example of murdering a neighborhood kid is not on par. Closer would be something like, I run up to you and stab us both with the tips of a vascular catheter set (presumably I checked your blood-type ahead of time
).
Turns out, I have a severe form of aplastic anemia, and will die if I’m not hooked up to someone like you,
constantly. It’s your blood and your body, and all you have to do is pull the catheter out of your arm, and I’ll stagger off and die. Would that be murder?
Responsibility. You always took precautions. Always wearing thick (needle-proof) leather coats. But one day, a few weeks back, you got tipsy, and wanted to go for a swim in the ocean, took off the coat, and BAM!!
I got your artery!
Seriously though. Abstinence is the only 100% form of protection. But that is a tall order for most human beings.
An interesting line from that article you cited....
“Women who obtain abortions represent every religious affiliation. 13% of abortion patients describe themselves as born-again or Evangelical Christians; while 22% of U.S. women are Catholic, 27% of abortion patients say they are Catholics.”
Which indicates that Catholics use abortion services at a higher rate than their cohorts.
I would imagine that this is a social/familial/shame aspect that they disproportionately have to deal with, due to the conservative nature of their philosophy/religion, and/or a failure in their education about prevention of pregnancies.
It certainly didn’t give them a bead on abstinence.
[/rambling old man]