This year, the Supreme Court overturned Row v. Wade and it caused a massive debate along Political and Religious lines. The media has been reporting that red states will be banning abortions and blue states will be welcoming in those from red states for their right to an abortion. There is so much to dive into on this one and the language the media and the government should be noticed. The Supreme Court, in my opinion, did not ban abortions. They overturned an earlier ruling that the Federal Government did not have the Constitutional ability to take away the right from the states. Be careful for what language the media and the government says. They talk in absolutes and slide things in as if nobody is watching. It is important to step back and actually look at what we are working on. Are we supposed to spend time on the rule, or spend even more time on the exception? It looks like all we are working on are the exceptions.
To begin with, I am a firm believer that abortions should not be used as a form of birth control. There are scientific advances today that were not around during the 70s when Roe v Wade was ruled upon. For example, birth control methods are much more advanced. Along with the birth control pill, there are IUDs and the morning after pill. Now, for the guy, there is nothing wrong with a condom. They are not like they were in the past. If you are wanting to have unprotected sex, then these methods should be in your nightstand. People need to act with reasonable responsibility and take responsibility for their actions. We all know where babies come from, we all know how to prevent pregnancy and methods are widely available. One argument is that some people cannot afford an IUD, the pill, condoms or the morning after pill. There are programs in pretty much every community (at least in GA) that they can get their method of choice either free or next-to-free. I took a look at some numbers and the best sample size I found was from Florida where in 2020 95.3% of abortions were due to Elective or for socio-economic reasons, in other words, Birth Control. (https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/). Therefore, almost all abortions are not due to the health of the Mother, the health of the baby, incest or rape. Since the sample size in this study was large, I have to believe that the proportions would be similar nationwide, maybe +/- a percentage or two.
Now, let’s go to the debate that the government and the media want to fight.
They taught “What about the health of the mother, the health of the child, incest, rape?“. Well, then we are working on just 4.7% of all abortions. Then, you hear on the news that Louisiana and Kentucky are having a near BAN on Abortions (notice the emphasize BAN on Abortion) and never, ever explain what “near” means. There are probably exceptions, but I did look into many of the states the news, in this case ABC, and read what their new abortion laws say. They all said that there are exceptions for the health of the mother and baby. Many also allow abortions between 6 and 15 weeks.
Next, they say “Now I have to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion“. During the week of the decision, I watched ABC News and paid close attention to the language. They seemed to be in Louisiana and Kentucky during the week. The reporter in Louisiana said “I am standing in front of the only abortion clinic in the state”. The next day, the reporter said, “I am standing in front of one of only 2 abortion clinics in Kentucky”. I realized that women may already be travelling to obtain an abortion. So, then I looked at how many clinics are in the U.S. In 2017, there were 808 clinics that performed 95% of all abortions in the United States. Half of those clinics were in just 5 states (NY, CA, WA, FL and NJ). Therefore, if you wanted an abortion before the Supreme Court decision, you would probably still have to travel. Since most abortions today are performed medically, they may be able to be prescribed the medication and taken at home. I have not explored this scenario, but it does seem there are some risks to having this done without doctor supervision.
Next, what about the abortion ban after 13 or 16 weeks? This is the “Heartbeat Bill” that keeps buzzing around. Let’s assume that a heartbeat can be detected at 13 weeks. Some say 13, some say 16. It probably isn’t an exact science. The media and government says “There are many women who do not know if they are pregnant that early“. OK, I am a guy and this may be incorrect, but 13 weeks is 3 months. A woman would have missed 3 periods. My wife and daughters told me that many women do not have regular periods, so that wouldn’t apply. However, it would apply to those who do have regular periods. OK, so if not 13 or 16 weeks, pick a number and let’s go with it. There will always be someone who says that isn’t fair. So, I next went to the statistics. According to the CDC, in 2019 93% of abortions happen before 13 weeks. It appears that women know that they are pregnant before 13 weeks. For those who do not act responsible, the 6-week mark for the state of GA looks to me to be out of line when looking at when a fetal heartbeat is detected. I just feel the 13-week heartbeat rule seems to be a good compromise. It is very difficult for me to “compromise” on a child’s life, but there has to be a bridge somewhere.
Lastly, it is true that if a pregnant woman is killed, it is a double-murder. So, legally, when does life begin? When is it murder to have an abortion? According to God, life begins at conception. However, legally that rule would be very difficult to withstand. I think that Baby Roe is glad that she was born before the decision was made in 1973.
[UPDATE 8/27/22]
This just aired on Good Morning America and shows the bad reporting and bias from the media. The audio is a bit hard to hear because I recorded it from my cell phone. This is important, so, please do your best to hear it. Basically, ths person’s issue is that she had an idiot doctor who didn’t understand the basics of Louisiana’s law. Even after the state reiterated that she can have an abortion, ABC News still said she has to go out of state. This is not true. She is able to terminate the pregnancy in Louisiana without having to travel anywhere. ABC appears to be purposely devisive and that is a huge problem in America.