If you haven't noticed, Texas does things a little differently than other states. I referenced this in yesterday's humorous post. On a more serious note, Texas has also made the news recently with a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. This bill was opposed by Texas Democrats, and notably, by a Texas Senator named Wendy Davis, who sparked a #StandWithWendy following on Twitter last night with her filibuster of the bill.
I know that people on both sides are very passionate about abortion, and that many people are very uncomfortable discussing the issue at all. It's not something dusty and dry like economic theory. We're not talking about tariffs and international trade. It's an intensely personal and moral issue that goes to the core of our being.
So, having said all that, I'm going to tee it up for discussion here, and if nothing else, put my thoughts out there on the Texas Bill and a 20 week rule. This is the internet - strong opinions come with the territory.
First of all, this is a tough world and people have to make tough choices at times, but what we are talking about here - an abortion after 20 weeks - is terminating a viable infant. I think there is a certain reasonable ground in which abortions can be performed, but that time is not very long. For instance, one of the big questions that are put to pro-life folks is What about the case of a woman who becomes pregnant through rape? Let's talk about that:
First, I'm fine with exceptions. I don't fall into either camp of: (a) abortions for all women, all the time, right up until the baby is born or (b) no abortions, ever. This issue isn't one that lends itself to either one of those solutions. So let's talk about a common exception that gets brought up: rape.
In the case of a woman who become pregnant through rape, I don't think that she is going to wait twenty weeks to make a decision about whether or not she wants an abortion. Why on earth would she wait that long? My guess is that she would make the decision as soon as she realized that she was pregnant, not four months later. No fact is going to change between week 4 and week 20. Basically, I think it's such an odd hypothetical as to not really merit much consideration. It's just a little too hypothetical and out of touch with reality for me. If you're raped, and get pregnant: have an abortion before week 20. Why?
For me, when I think of a 20 week old, I naturally think of what my child was like at 20 weeks. He had developed a head, lungs, all of his limbs, he had developed his sex, and distinct chambers of his heart. He was moving around. That's what you have at 20 weeks. It's not theoretical - it's a child. At 20 weeks, he was my child.
To me, the best evidence of how awful late-term abortion is the fog of language that we use to describe it. It's almost entirely euphemisms that minimize the act. To specifically and accurately describe what actually happens in a late term abortion is to condemn it.
Women have rights to control their body. But again, you can't take everything to the extreme. For instance, my rights end when I punch you in the face. I can't do that. With abortion, it's the same principle. People who advocate for late-term abortion are advocating destroying a viable human being. If your response to that is that you value the rights of a mother more than the rights of a late-term infant, my guess is that you're not a parent.
Anyway, I'm probably going to make some people mad with this post, but that's not my intention. I'm just putting my thoughts out there to get people thinking. By the way, random fact: the hard-right country of France has a 12 week window for abortions. So Texas is proposing to give women an addition 8 weeks longer than France does.
