Pregnant mom (Photo credit: MD Clic Photography on Flickr)
Women need abortion, we’re told, because it is just terrible and awful to force an unwanted pregnancy onto a woman. It’s pretty much the worst thing in the world, and there should be no discussion of personal responsibility (because clearly it’s cruel to expect women to abstain from sex if they aren’t ready for a baby).
There should also be no discussion of options beyond abortion (because adoption is unreasonable and keeping the baby would be impossible). A blogger at RH Reality Check, Natasha Chart, was pregnant and kept her son, who presumably was wanted. But her experience with pregnancy gave her a laundry list of reasons why women need abortion. Pregnancy makes you fat! And your feet get big! And it’s just such a hassle to do all the testing!
On the less serious, but financially inconvenient, side, I’d started expanding past even the maternity clothes I bought early in pregnancy. By the end, none of my shoes fit over my swollen feet. It’s not a medical concern, but not everyone can readily afford to just turn over a wardrobe twice in less than a year, especially when there are all these exciting new expenses for baby clothes and supplies.
Nearly a month after the birth, I still can’t fit into my pre-maternity clothes or bear to wear a real bra, and I’m really glad that I don’t have to show up anywhere looking professional for a little while yet. If I can’t be somewhere in an outfit that includes a nursing tank right now, I can’t be there.
… The results of my first glucose tolerance test were high, so they wanted to do a follow-up. Since a three-hour glucose tolerance test after fasting seemed like a bad idea for a patient with a history of passing out during blood draws on an empty stomach, my doctor had me test myself four times a day at specific times and follow a meal plan for gestational diabetics so they could settle the question.
I turned out not to have gestational diabetes, but the exercise was a huge hassle.
Swollen feet! Not immediately fitting back into your pre-pregnancy clothes! Having to take glucose tests! The horror!
Chart then goes on to talk about all of the expenses that come with a pregnancy. It’s undeniable that, without insurance, it could be expensive – the hospital bills for prenatal care and delivery could run into the tens of thousands (though they don’t always). Chart also mentions time off for recovery, which usually runs about six weeks. Chart seems to think this means that women are completely incapacitated and incapable of doing anything until those six weeks are over, but thankfully, that’s not quite the case. She talks a lot about the hardships this would inflict on women who don’t have insurance or are living paycheck to paycheck.
The huge majority of mothers who give life to their children never regret it.
Clearly, this shows that women should be able to get abortions if they want them. Right? One thing Chart never mentions is adoption, which could alleviate many of the economic issues, as well as the long-term stress of having to raise a child you aren’t ready for.
Earlier this month, the New York Times wrote a story about a study which pro-aborts crowed over. The study showed what happens when women who tried to get abortions were unable to do so. Eighty of the women in the study reported not having enough money to meet their basic needs, and 1 in 10 were on welfare. In the short term, keeping the baby caused stress, anxiety, and other negative feelings in the women, and it also had a tremendous economic impact on them – thus the crowing from pro-aborts.
Six months later, though, those anxiety levels decreased. What was rarely mentioned was how the women felt in the long-term. Only 5% of women regretted having their baby. Almost half denied ever trying to get an abortion.
But women need abortion. Why? Because their feet might swell, and they’ll gain weight, and things might be hard for a while. These trivial things are supposed to be the reasons why women should be able to kill their unborn children?
