Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Soul, and Life Debate

So the ever eventful TAB meeting was today and I had to go home before the debate was finished but the subject was very serious, and something that really fires me up.

Unfortunately I left before I could fully explain my debate, and of course I was interrupted by Mary many times before I could make a valid point, so now I turn to my ever convenient blog to voice my young, but informed and raw opinion. Let me warn you. What I might say will probably come off as offensive, so if you're looking to pick a fight go ahead and click on the 'X' on the screen. However, I would like your opinion at the end of the post, so do whatever.

All formalities aside-- I state now, and for as long as I live that I am pro legalized abortions and pro choice. I have been recently told that there is a difference, and I now see that. I have many reasons for both, but for the sake of my hands I'll only type up the few important ones.

  1. Pro Choice does not mean Pro Death. Please people, for the sake of all that is just and moral, understand that Pro Choice means that women get to CHOOSE what will happen to their body. As an American Citizen, we all have the choice to tattoo our body, drink, smoke, have sex, dye our hair-- Why not have the choice of keeping our babies or terminating our pregnancies? I would be mighty pissed if the government told me what to do with my body. In fact, I don't think any human being has the right to look down upon another because of their personal choices. IT'S A FREE FRIGGIN COUNTRY we should have the CHOICE to do whatever we want. If you don't like abortions, THEN DON'T GET ONE. We as human beings must be able to accept the fact that not everything will go our way, so when someone makes a decision that has nothing to do with you, butt out. By all means, you can be supportive but when opinions get the best of you and you decide to pass a law that takes away a woman's choice to do what she wants with her body--- that's where I draw the line.

  2. I don't believe that life starts until we are born. Yes, while in the womb you are nothing but a blob, a growing blob that will one day develop arms, eyes, ears, etc. Now tell me, does that mass of growth in a woman's stomach have a soul? Many argue that life starts at conception, but I think life starts when you are born, when you first have a thought, when you look up at someone and smile. As a baby in the womb you do nothing but feed off of your mother. You have no thoughts, you are basically just there and growing. I remember when I was three and my parents lived in a tiny apartment and I played on the stairs. I remember all my dolls, and my mother working at sonic, and having the occasional accident on the carpet while potty training. Sometimes I wonder if we are all just empty shells until we remember things. However, as pointed out last night, many people have memory problems-- does that mean they don't have souls? No, they have souls, they can talk, make decisions, move, cry, smile, they think. Is someone who is a vegetable on life support have a soul? No, I think that their soul has left their body. What I'm saying is, The moment we make a decision, whether it be if we like the rattle our parents put in our hands, or if we want jello for breakfast-- the moment we think and speak, cry or make a noise, kick our legs and flail our arms in frustration-- that is when we are human, that is when we have souls.

  3. Religion, please show some valid truth. Please, pray tell in the bible where it says that abortion is wrong, and please if you may use text out of the new testament. The old testament in this case isn't really all that valid, seeing as most of the laws apply to Jews, and not Gentiles. Although I am a fourth Jewish, it means nothing. I still eat crab, and meat that is not kosher, I go to the movies on the Sabbath. Please smite me with lightning if you object. However, many religious people say IF MARY GOT AN ABORTION THERE WOULD BE NO JESUS. Now, repeat that to yourself three times very slowly in order to see what a dumb@ss you are. One, Mary and Joseph both had a vision from an Angel telling them that they were going to parent the son of God, so it's kinda common sense that they wouldn't try and kill off the baby lest they face the wrath of the ever almight God. Yeah, I just went there. Also, say that to a pro life Athiest and see all the crap that'll hit the fan. Contrary to belief, there are Athiests and Agnostics and Wiccas that are pro life, and they each have their own beliefs based off of morals, and personal choices, all of which have nothing to do with God.

  4. Believe what you want, just please disagree with respect. The only thing that pisses me off more than race discrimination is when people don't respect my opinions. If you believe that life starts in the womb, I respect that. If you believe abortion is murder, I respect your opinion. However, if you attack me, saying that I am WRONG and a total ignorant fool for my beliefs, that is where I draw the line. If I can respect your opinions, and thoughts, can you not do the same without alienating me? Can we not agree to disagree? Can we not voice our opinions without getting bashed in the head? I'm friends with someone who has opposite beliefs than mine, but we're still friends. We respect each other, and understand that each has their own personal standards. She's a great friend, and an awesome person who no matter what, respects people. Is that too much to ask of a person?

Lastly, I know this will probably blow up in my face, but I'm up for it: What are your Views? When does the Soul start, and what is considered murder? You can do a response blog and send me the link, or just simply leave a comment. I plan on keeping this post up for a few days, so please don't be afraid to voice what you believe, and be my guest to correct me if I'm factually wrong on any points.

9 comments:

  1. i'm most definitely pro-choice. i favor legalized abortions. the debate on where life begins is very taboo, and the lines are blurred. i understand and support that third-trimester abortions are largely illegal. anything before that time should without question be allowed; it's my body for me to decide if a pregnancy should continue inside of it or not. it's pretty much unconstitutional otherwise. you should check out some sites like plannedparenthood.com and naral.org if this kind of issue really interests you, as it does me!

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  2. I am also pro choice/legalized abortion for many of those reasons. I personally think that life begins at birth, but abortions do get more dangerous the further along someone is and for that reason if someone decides to have an abortion they should definitely do it as soon as they can. As for the religious stuff, I'm not religious so that doesn't apply to my views on what is wrong or right. Also, just to add another bit about why I believe in legalized abortions, I don't think some people realize that some women get pregnant and they just cannot support a baby and then the whole adoption argument arises. Here's the thing though, going through a pregnancy, even if you don't plan to keep the kid, is still extremely expensive (checkups, vitamins, etc) if you do not have health insurance and many people don't. Sure, they got pregnant in the first place, but what if it was because of a broken condom? Or rape? Or something as simple as forgetting to have protected sex? Should someone who has no desire to have a baby be forced to carry it to term? Another thing while on the topic, Bush wants to redefine abortion and make contraceptives illegal (birth control, etc) for women which I think is a horrible idea. Not only will this completely do away with many "safe sex" practices seeing as BC is the most affective, but it send us back in time where just having contraceptives was something to be scorned. People are going to have sex, it's just how things are, they should have the means to at least chose practices that don't lead to pregnancy. Not to mention, there will always be women who want abortions and, if they aren't legal, they're going to turn to dangerous methods to get them. Most importantly, like you stated, women get to choose what happens to them, its their body and I don't think other people should have an influence over that. Well, that was my rambling viewpoint, I could go on for ages, but I'm kind of using this as a form of procrastination. Anyways, just wanted to say that your recent entries where you ask for your reader's opinions have shown that at least you, unlike others, are very willing to listen to what others have to say and not put them down for what they believe.

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  3. I just realized that I always write novels in response to your posts. Sorry about that.

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  4. i make a concious decision not to choose either side, because I would, in effect, be putting the other side down.. and I refuse to do that.. "to each his own" and whatnot..

    I will say that around the end of the second/beginning of the third trimester womb-babies do cry, suck their thumbs, open their eyes, etc.... so PERHAPS the SOUL starts then, which is why it is DEFINITELY illegal to abort during that time..

    either way, nothing says it better than: don't do what YOU don't agree with... and mind your own business...

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  5. i agree with most of your blog. i believe the soul enters the body upon the first breath taken by the fetus outside of the woman's body. be it through a tube or naturally. i also believe that NO ONE and NOTHING has the right to use the body of another without their consent or against their will. that includes a fetus.

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  6. I'm not sure...I know that "pro-choice" doesn't necessarily mean that you favor abortions, just that you want the CHOICE of whether or not to get one. I'm all for personal freedom, but is it taking the life of another person? I'm not really sure what I think. The fetus isn't actually alive YET, but by aborting it, it would prevent it from ever being born. I'm not really sure what to think...on one hand, I don't think that the government should control people's bodies, but on the other hand, it just seems really...unfair to take a human's life without their will, even if they're not born yet. I'm not 100% sure where I stand. So I guess I'm pro-life, but basically respect other people's opinions and don't judge them.

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  7. i have to say, i agree with about 50% of ur blog, and disagree about 50%. i personally dont support abortion, but i dont look down on people that do. i do have to say though, that i believe that all aborted fetuses should go towards stem-cell research.

    just one of the reasons i dont support abortions is i see it as a cowardly thing to do. im not saying that people that have abortions are cowards, i just feel that they are taking an easy way out of a careless mistake. i believe that if you are "mature" enough to make the decision to have sex, you should be responsible and consider the cons of ill-preparation. i definately agree that we should be left to make our own decisions, and that no one should have the audacity to look down on anyone for their actions. but although we should all have the right to make our own decisions, i believe that if you get pregnant, then you should have your baby and put it up for adoption, if you still feel the same after having the baby.



    OFF TOPIC:
    is it just me, or is the spelling of fetus really ignorant looking?

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  8. People should be able to get abortions when they want, because they've been doing it for milleniums anyways!! Even the Egyptians had forms of birth control and abortion.
    It's not fair for the government to tell us what a life is and is not. Everyone has different beliefs which means that we all have different pov. So just cause they have "power" means they can override our beliefs?
    I don't think a person can really say what a life is.
    Besides, people kill things everyday. Like those vegies that vegetarians eat, they were once alive, they reproduced, they had life.
    So who are we to say which life is more important? veggies? Or people?
    Its just not fair.
    Just let the person decide if they can take care of a child, and butt out.

    Also, better forms of birth control and safe sex should be researched because the world is SERIOUSLY overpopulating. Look at China

    POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!
    haha

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  9. I'm pro legalized abortion too and I really do think it's the woman's choice. Nobody knows where the soul starts, we can only go with our intuition. But I also believe that if you're gonna have sex be ready to accept the consequences before you do so.

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