Wondering what’s prompted this? It’s this article on Fox News talking about the Virginia Governor’s comments about a potential law in that state.
Before I get started let me say this: Abortion is a personal issue. It’s between a woman, her God and her medical provider. If the woman chooses to include the biological father, great. If she makes the decision on her own without consulting the male, fine. It’s HER body, and HER choice. A woman is responsible for her offspring for the duration of her life. Men? They can, and do, walk away. I’m not saying fathers are not important, and I’m not saying every woman is right to not consider his feelings on the topic of abortion. I’m saying that including him is as personal a decision as the abortion itself. It’s not my call.
I’m a libertarian. I don’t believe it’s my place to tell another person what to do with their body or life. Your decisions are only my business as far as those decisions effect MY personal liberty. The exceptions to that rule are my husband and my minor children.
As a Naturopath I know how to “encourage a miscarriage” using herbs. Historically, this information used to be readily available to every single woman. Every culture has it’s own ways of ending and unwanted pregnancy. This information was passed down from mother to daughter, from grandmother to granddaughter, and from Aunt to niece. The herbs used, and the methods differ depending on the area of the world. But, this information used to be readily available.
It ALSO used to be understood that it was a choice that a women made early in the pregnancy under the advice of her close female relatives, village healers, and maybe even the village spiritual adviser.
It was a very non-controversial decision. What am I saying? I’m saying that the ability to end an early pregnancy has been around for as long as human civilization has existed. Modern medicine did not “invent” abortion. The practice didn’t come into existence when Roe v. Wade was decided.
But. (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) But, in today’s world, we are not always talking about ending a pregnancy early. Some laws and lawmakers are talking about allowing a woman to defy nature and use modern “medicine” end a pregnancy long after nature has made the decision. How long? New York now allows abortion up until the time of birth. The defenders of this law in NY claim it’s only in cases where the woman’s life is in danger, or the baby won’t survive.
Here’s my problem with that — every woman knows (or should know) that bringing a child into the world can be dangerous. It can wreck your health. Becoming pregnant CAN, in fact, put your very life in danger. In the modern world, it’s rare, but still a very real risk. You took that risk when you decided to get pregnant in the first place. Furthermore, in cases of mother’s life being in danger after the 6th month, there is always the option of allowing the baby to born early. Baby goes to premie care, and mom gets the medical treatment she needs. BOTH mother and baby get taken care of, and there is no abortion necessary. In addition, every pregnancy runs the risk of producing a baby that doesn’t survive. Every. Single. One. No pregnancy is absolute. It’s the chance we take. To be blunt –Taking these very real chances is part of being a woman. It’s one of the things that make us who we are as women
