I never had an abortion in my childbearing years, and never wanted one. Yet I can imagine circumstances in which I would have done so: a severely deformed or dying fetus; trapped in a violent relationship; raped by a man I would never choose to father my child.
We Americans are fair-minded. We can walk in another's shoes. That new Texas law is foreign to American values. Texas is no model: It has the nation's biggest population of children in poverty. It is the state with the highest rate of uninsured. Not coincidentally, about 70 percent of Texas abortions involve women of color.
Small-minded, vindictive leaders would punish victims of rape by forcing them to bear the rapist's child. Another sign of moral regression: incorporating bounty hunting, a practice from the Middle Ages still legal only in the United States and the Philippines.
The whole abortion controversy is submerged in a mire of muddled language, lies of omission, and logical fallacies, including the false assumption that making abortion illegal will end it. History and worldwide experience show that criminalization hardly affects the numbers but simply makes abortions unsafe.
Abortion opponents ignore economics. The average cost of a normal delivery without insurance is $10,000, and much more for a C-section, complications, a premature or low-birth-weight infant. In Arkansas, 12 percent of women are uninsured. Even the insured pay thousands because of high deductibles. Covid unemployment, the gig economy, automation make working lives less secure. The majority of young parents (85 percent) say they spend at least 10 percent of their income for day care.
Words matter. You don't get to redefine them willy-nilly. Until recently, everybody knew what a baby was: A baby is born. The terms embryo and fetus date back to the 14th century.
People have been arguing since ancient times about exactly when the fertilized egg becomes a person, with a soul. Various religions differ about this. As a practical matter, we can't determine the moment of conception, whether this is fertilization or implantation in the uterus some days later. Between one-third and one-half of all fertilized eggs don't implant.
Brain activity doesn't imply consciousness. Viability depends on the state of medical science. Instead of absolute answers, a philosopher suggests that there are degrees of "the right to life." This is reflected in laws and in practice. Ninety-one percent of abortions occur at or before 13 weeks.
By pretending that a first-trimester abortion is the equivalent of infanticide, someone becomes a knight in shining armor, preventing the "murder" of "babies." More sincere pro-life people actively try to aid women with unplanned pregnancies. At best this sets up adoptions or helps women with immediate needs. (The first year of diapers and formula cost an estimated $2,700.)
Pro-life is a term chosen for its propaganda value to describe a very limited agenda. If you were truly pro-life you would do something about our country's shamefully high maternal mortality rate (55th in the world) and infant mortality rate nearly twice that of the European Union. You would work toward world peace and disarmament; you would be a climate change activist and a conservationist.
Even limited to the "unborn," the movement ignores several real dangers to that demographic. First is toxic pollution from smog, heavy metals, cigarette smoke, wildfires, pesticides, industrial emissions, and many other sources. Second, domestic violence: According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 324,000 pregnant women are abused each year. Third, worldwide threats to pregnant women from war and famine. (But this is all really about America, and American politics, isn't it?)
What does the Bible say about abortion? Well, nothing really. Southern Baptists didn't come out against abortion until the 1980s. Despite church doctrine, about half the Catholic laity want it to stay legal. So do majorities of non-evangelical Protestants, Jews, and most of the religiously unaffiliated (now a quarter of us). Those who would impose their own beliefs on the entire country are too close to the establishment of a state religion.
Like the majority of Americans, I want abortions to remain a choice. We might also emulate countries with lower abortion rates than ours.
Some ways and means toward fewer abortions are: 1. Low-cost, easily available contraceptives, free in health plans; 2. Universal health care; 3. Higher minimum wage; 4. Parental leave; 5. Affordable, high-quality child care; 6. High school courses in parenting for both girls and boys; 7. Continued research on contraceptives, especially for men; and 8. A child benefit (not welfare) as in a dozen other rich countries.
Coralie Koonce is a writer living in Fayetteville. Her latest book is "Twelve Dispositions: A Field Guide to Humans."