Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Personal Perspective on Abortion

Everyone's body is sacred, let's start there.  A woman's body has the capability of carrying the miracle of life into the world and that should matter to everyone who's been born.  Your dad didn't carry you to term.

According to scripture, God knew us in the womb, but it doesn't specify how early on during pregnancy the Almighty recognized we were there.  That's OK.  What matters on Earth in the USA is when does the government recognize two distinct human beings deserving of protection under the law?  This is where Roe vs. Wade gets tricky, but the Supreme Court decided that the law recognizes two lives at the moment the fetus can be a viable life outside the womb, generally agreed at the end of the first trimester.

I like the timing, but not the definition.  Here's why.

An abortion is a medical procedure and as such, should only be performed by a medical doctor.  Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, which dictates that first, they should do no harm.  It's that bit that makes the 1st trimester so important as a cutoff point.

The fetus has no developed nervous system, which means it can't be sensible of pain in the 1st twelve weeks.  If it can't feel, it can't be harmed.

To me, a woman who wants a SAFE abortion during the 1st trimester should have legal and affordable access to one - NO QUESTIONS ASKED.  Once the 2nd trimester starts, then other contingencies should be considered.

This is about as left of center as I get.

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