Not All Women's Rights Are Right

The following is a list of some of the rights women should have:

• The right to have any job that a man can have, and get paid the same amount for it.
• The right to work outside the home, if she so chooses.
• The right to be a stay at home mom, if she so chooses.
• The right to breastfeed in public.
• The right to be treated equally with men.
• The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In 1973 in the United States, women were granted a right that is outright wrong, and that is the right to kill her unborn child via abortion. This right is just as wrong as the right Americans were given many years ago to own slaves. Americans finally came to realize that slavery was wrong, and made slavery illegal. Americans, and the entire world, need to realize that nobody should have the right to take anyone's life, no matter what their stage of development. Women, men, and children, both born and unborn, have the right to life, liberty, and the the pursuit of happiness. Women who experience unwanted pregnancies are in very difficult circumstances, without a doubt, but disposing of an unborn child is never a viable solution. 

Caitlin Jane's "Unborn" Music Video

Live Action Films provided a link to a beautiful pro-life video on YouTube called "Unborn". The video is very well done, and does a great job at illustrating the beauty of all life, especially the unborn. I hope the video touches your heart, as it did mine:



If you have difficulty viewing this video, click here.

The "My Body, My Choice" Fallacy

The battle cry of the pro-choice/pro-abortion movement is "My body, my choice!" In other words, they are saying that a woman is the owner of her body, and only she can decide what can or cannot be done with or to her body. They believe that no person or law should force a woman to do something to or with her body that she doesn't want to do, or prevent her from doing something to or with her body that she wants to do. This belief has its roots in the feminist and women's rights movements.

In regards to the abortion issue in particular, members of the pro-choice movement say that a woman is justified in having an abortion performed on her body to remove a fetus (unborn baby) from her womb because she owns her body, and can choose to do whatever she wants to her body. Whenever I'm discussing the abortion issue with someone who uses this argument, I ask them if they support laws that prevent people from ingesting or injecting narcotics like cocaine and heroin into their body? More specifically, I ask them if a woman should be able to take narcotics legally, since they believe a woman has a right to do whatever she wants to her body? This question usually poses a quandry for abortion rights supporters. Most people, including most pro-choice supporters, are against narcotics use. The reasons for being against the legalization of narcotics is because narcotics can harm people. People can become addicted to narcotics. People who are high on narcotics can harm other people, especially when they are operating large machinery, like automobiles.

So why does the narcotics legalization question pose a quandry for some people with the "My body, my choice" mentality? If such a person supports laws that prevent women (and men) from ingesting or injecting narcotics into their body, they are, in effect, preventing women (and men) who want to take illegal narcotics from doing what they want with their body. They are against a woman's (and man's) "choice" when it comes to narcotics use, but for a woman's (and man's) "choice" when it comes to abortion. The conflict this situation sets up is obvious.

When I ask abortion-rights supporters if they support laws that prevent women from taking narcotics, they often respond that they think narcotic use should be legalized, or that the restrictions on narcotics use should be relaxed. Although this may shock you, it shouldn't really surprise you. They probably feel it would be hypocritical to support a law that upholds a woman's right to choose abortion, and at the same time support a law that takes away a woman's right to take narcotics. Rather than risk being accused of hypocrisy, they say they support the legalization of narcotics.

Some abortion rights supporters say that they oppose the legalization of narcotics because narcotics harm people. The same could be said for abortion. Many women are physically, emotionally, and mentally harmed by abortion. Abortion also results in the death of another human being, the unborn child that is forcibly removed from the mother's womb.

If a woman's right to do what she wants with her body is not an absolute right that applies to all situations, the possibility exists that there are some situations where a woman does not have the right to choose what she wants to do with her body. This reduces the "My body, my choice" argument to mere opinion. If you are pro-life, and a person tries to use the "My body, my choice" argument to justify abortion, respond by saying "That's your opinion, and I disagree with it."

Peace be with you!

Paul

P.S. - This post only addresses the "My choice" part of the "My body, my choice" argument. The "My body" part of the argument is really a separate issue. I believe that a woman doesn't own her body. God owns her body, because he created it. Hmm, that sounds like a good topic for another blog post!

Poll: If you support abortion rights, do you think narcotics use should be legalized so that women and men have the right to choose to take drugs?