Saving Our Lives & Our Planet

How does one speak of such a heinous thing as what the Bishops of the Catholic Church are calling “infanticide?” Allow me to walk you through the process:

Woman once were able to have control over their bodies and overall health. This was before the Church came around and argued that it was woman’s purpose to remain baby-making machines. To go against such a request from the Church was to go against “God,” himself. No, in this time period before the cruel and unusual dogma of "The Zealot," women took care of women. It was their sacred right as daughters of their mother to work in the field of healing and health. In this era, abortionists were also healers of the town. There were no laws or people stating that to abort a child before the fifth month was murder. In fact, it was seen by many as a healthy choice for women who were victims of rape or had bodies that would not make it through the difficult period of pregnancy. Even woman who simply had too many children because their husband kept them pregnant, were not frowned upon for choosing to terminate a pregnancy to spare the rest of the family from suffering both financially and emotionally. People of the Islamic faith, and other tribal faiths throughout the world, believe the soul enters the body after the fifth month of pregnancy. Some believe it does not enter the body until the day it is actually born. For quite some time, the Church claimed abortion was wrong, but not on the grounds of “infanticide,” on the grounds that the “harlot” women involved would be depriving the biological father of a possible male heir. What??!!!! What about the woman’s life? What about the possible complications, which could lead to death for both Mother and Child? What about the mother’s future? Her wants and needs? When did women become second rate and why? Is it just because a religion says so? Is it just because a man says so?
Somewhere along the way woman lost touch with the natural herbs to help terminate an unwanted pregnancy. They also lost their rights to their bodies. Woman lost their stronghold in the medical field during the “burning times,” when many woman healers were murdered by the Church. Men took over the field and began bargaining with woman who needed abortions. They requested many things, from extra money to sex, as payment for the surgery woman once received safely and cleanly. These were cruel times, when “crude methods” of surgery were used on pregnant women. Often times, no anesthesia was used because the abortionists wanted the women out of their office as soon as possible. The fear of unwanted pregnancies became the fear of the abortionists as well. In the mid 90’s over two hundred medical clinics were bombed in protest of abortion. Zealots began threatening the doctors and their families as well as the women who needed the surgery. Much of this could be avoided if abortion was legalized AND recognized as a necessary part of life, as it once was. But, now there is unscrupulous labeling of abortion as murder without any consideration for the lives outside of the womb. Why is the mother’s, or other lives involved, less important then a tiny, few-celled organism that has yet to truly live? When I say live, I don’t me have a brain and a heartbeat; I mean expressing an intricate personality, a complex past and a promising future. Or, maybe I am just speaking of a deeply feeling, fully functioning person who is sentimental and wise. Why do we leave out the other lives involved when speaking about abortion? Is it ignorance or fear, or maybe both?
This kind of ignorance has reared its ugly head again, in the American society. As a result, many women fear for their life. The fear is not just of the zealots who are killing in the name of God or Hatred. It also stems from the trying period of pregnancy, which many women are not built to endure. Fortunately, writings by ancient women healers have recently been found. In these writings, the healers pass on their knowledge of herbal contraceptives and herbs that can terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester. These ancient healers cared about the women involved, and knew that termination herbs and oral contraceptives were vital to a woman’s health, happiness and future. This, in turn, benefited community, family and environment.
People like to say that those who are pro-abortion are anti-life when in fact it is quite the opposite. As a person who would not be able to endure a pregnancy, I am pro MY LIFE. I also believe that my child would deserve me, as well as do I believe I deserve myself. From what my doctors have told me, with the chronic illness I have, a pregnancy could lead to my death, and a motherless child.
I do not believe that legalization is enough as anti-abortionists have gone to such extremes of violence and murder to prove their point, which is, supposedly, not to murder. Hmmm…is this a bit hypocritical? I have extracted a quote from my link above, which I suggest everybody, especially men, read to get a better understanding of the history of abortion up to present times. The name of this book is Our Bodies, Ourselves For The New Century by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. I recommend everyone at least read the chapter on abortion:

“We have learned that legalization is not enough to ensure that abortions will be available to all women who want and need them. In addition to a lack of facilities and trained providers, burdensome legal restrictions, including parental consent or notification laws for minors and mandatory waiting periods, create significant obstacles. A minor who has been refused consent by a parent may have to go through an intimidating and time-consuming judicial hearing. Mandatory waiting periods may require a woman to miss extra days of work because she must go to the clinic not once, but twice, to obtain an abortion. If travel is required, this can make the whole procedure unaffordable. In other words, for millions of women, youth, race, and economic circumstances together with the lack of accessible services--especially for later abortions--translate into daunting barriers, forcing some women to resort to unsafe and illegal abortions and self-abortions”

In case you do not know what “self-abortion” is, it is a dangerous attempt to force a miscarriage, which often leads to death of the mother. This is real, folks! When discussing pregnancy and abortion we are not just talking about the incredibly young life of a zygote! We are talking about the life of the woman and all others involved. My sister, to this day, has not said one “thank you” to me for spending so much of my time and energy on her first child, when I should have been making decent grades in high school. Though it enriched my life to be with my niece, it played a significant part in affecting my grades negatively and I am paying the price now. I was fourteen then and I have spent a great deal of time with children since. I love children and the Earth very much, which is why I believe abortion should stay legalized and should be better understood by our society. This, like the “gay” thing, goes beyond a political issue. I question why it is even on the “political alter” to be judged, at all. It is an extremely personal matter. I cannot even imagine what would happen if I was raped and could not get a legal abortion—the risk I would take, due to the trauma of such an event. These seem unspeakable things, but they are happening whether or not abortion is legalized. Women will always find a way to get an abortion if they truly do not want the child, or if their life is put at risk in carrying one. It IS their right to choose because it is also THEIR life on the line. Of course, many people (i.e. some men or anti-abortionists) may disagree, or see my opinion as hollow because it is coming from a woman. Maybe they will instantly disagree because it is coming from a lesbian or a liberal. To them, I say; put your Self in THAT woman’s shoes. Put yourself in the place of an oppressed, restricted women who needs—NEEDS—that abortion. She needs to terminate that few-celled organism in order to save her established, connected, many-year[ed] life. She wants to stay on Earth with her loved ones, her achievements, and her small but significant moments. Or, perhaps she wants the life of her other children to be healthy and whole. Perhaps a new life would become such a burden that the family couldn’t stay afloat financially, and those children consequently would suffer by the choice to not terminate. Perhaps the woman knows the torment many foster children go through before they are adopted and she doesn’t want that little embryo to endure that torture. There are so many possible scenarios to think about. It is not just about the "dumb" teen who didn’t wear a condom, or the "call girl" who forgot her pill. There are more complex issues within this topic. I would ask that everyone do thorough research on abortion before making a quick, heedless judgment.

Another topic many people choose to ignore in regards to abortion is overpopulation. We have too many people on the planet! There is a pile of trash the size of Texas on Earth. It is incredibly deep and it is floating around in our oceans! I love my family and cherish their lives. I am happy to be here and to know my nieces, sisters and parents. However, I have (and many others I know have) expressed to the earth that I would gladly accept the ending of my life here if it meant that She and all the other creatures could live without the torment of us humans. Many people do not see the damage we are doing to our oceans, land and all the creatures therein. We are so consumed in our lives and our beliefs that we take for granted the earth and abuse it to frailness and barrenness. Many of us ignore or resist this obvious occurrence of the daily depredation and dissolution of the Earth. It is much easier to ignore then to look at because the damage is catastrophic and the suffering is unbearable. Unfortunately, ignoring it only perpetuates the cycle of destruction. It is such a sad thing to me and to many people I know. Often times we find ourselves in tears on the earth’s behalf. Our population has more than doubled in the last 100 years. If we keep going at the rate we are now, we will have no resources left, nor will our animal families. Scientists are already predicting the beginning of the next ice age because of the rapid pace the planet is warming up at, and we are the main cause of this increase in pace! Why are we making so many babies if we care about the future of our children and our planet? These are questions I cannot answer, but I do feel strongly about not making my own children because of the crisis at hand. We are in for a ride over the next 50 years or more. I want to be a part of the healing of Earth and humankind. I believe that requires allowing abortion and recognizing the beauty in it. I believe it requires us to acknowledge overpopulation and take action against its rapid growth. I feel we will witness, as a society and species, the wonder and love given to the Earth and all its life forms (including ourselves) by stepping up and accepting these responsibilities.