We've all heard the "I'm personally against abortion, but am pro-choice" argument before, well summarized in this oped. She acknowledges that the baby is a unique life, which makes her argument easy to deconstruct.
Scary Mommy: I personally believe that life begins at conception. I believe that an embryo and a fetus are unique human beings. I believe that choosing to terminate a life because of inconvenient timing is wrong. Those beliefs are all rooted in my religious faith, and are why the idea of abortion generally doesn’t sit well with me.
But I can’t laud the separation of church and state and also want my religious beliefs to be the basis for public policy. That’s hypocrisy.....Outright bans on abortion have not been proven to reduce abortion rates....And if you really want to lower abortion rates, put your weight behind legislation that is most likely to reduce unwanted pregnancy. Start advocating for affordable, accessible birth control, comprehensive sex education, and good health care for everyone. If the goal is to reduce abortion rates — which I assume is the goal of anyone who calls themselves pro-life — that’s the only proven way to do so.
To that I say, “I personally am against children working in coal mines, but don’t think my religious beliefs should be the basis for public policy.”
Sounds pretty silly, right? We all base our views of policy on our own moral beliefs, especially when one party has no voice. Unlike a topic like gay marriage, where it is fair to say “well, I’m against gay marriage personally, but my religious beliefs shouldn’t dictate public policy” – because in that case there are two consenting adults and their marriage does not affect anyone else. The author acknowledges that the embryo is a unique human being, but that unique human being does not have a voice in the abortion decision. That is why it is fair that society steps in. No one, except the suicidal, says “I wish I was aborted.” If anyone would say that, society would get them suicide prevention counseling. So if someone believe that the embryo is a unique human being, you also have to believe that in abortion the unique human being is consenting to suicide.
Laws against abortion would not eliminate murder, just as laws against murder don’t prevent murder. Adoption is the variable that is completely missing from this article. There are many good couples that cannot have children of their own, who are ready and willing to adopt. However, unlike the 1960s, adoption today is extremely expensive and difficult, since many unwanted babies are aborted. Many attempt to go through the process, and reluctantly give up after spending tens of thousands of dollars on failed attempts. If adoption was as easy as it was in the 1960s, you would also see couples with natural children adopt additional children.